Silent Whispers
by Mystickal
Summary: Katsuya and Seto are close to complete opposites, yet they too, are similar. Can they have feelings for one another? Will they finally confess when Seto is forced to look after Katsuya? [puppyshipping][1st few chaps as background and intro to the story]
1. Gymtastic!

Mystickal: Hey all! Welcome to chapter 1 of my first Yu-Gi-Oh SetoxKatsuya fic! -le gasps!- Updates might be slow since my test weeks start tomorrow till 3 weeks after... Hopefully I will still have time to conjure up tasty chapters for you all out there! Yes, thats my current obssession for the moment... -evil smirk-

Gomen for the silly title too... I will be using simple Japanese phrases here too. Most should have explainations at the end of the fic so don't fret! Numbers behind sentences etc will be explained at the end of the fic too. All thoughts of characters in **'xxxx' **and speeches in **"xxxx"**. Thoughts between the yamis and hikaris are enclosed in_**(xxxx) **_and _**/xxxx/ **_respectively.

Yes, its **SHOUEN-AI**people. Translated, boy-love. Translated once more, gay. Not the happy gay mind you. So if you have something against such fics, please click the nice striking red square at the upper right hand corner of the webpage. See it? Yes.. Now move the little arrow on top and click:) So **don't like don't read** ok? I don't want my fire extinguisher, Urasai, to spray people in the first chapter...

Pairings in this fic includes flashes of YamisxHikaris (Like Yami x Yugi, Bakura x Ryou yadayada...), maybe even Honda x Otogi, and of course centered around Seto Kaiba and Katsuya Jounouchi! (I shan't use Jyonouchi here yeap) The former is the super tall and slim CEO of the Kaiba Corporation, the latter is the cheerful 'puppy' blonde! The plot takes place in Domino, the town which all our lovable characters are residing in! All attend Domino High there too... Oh, Anzu bashing included for saftey measures! -pulls out dagger and laugh manically-

The story more or less revolves around the two protagonists living their lives and yea... Their fates soon intertwine and after a hell lot of nonsense, they finally feel for each other, something more than just a friendship.. Chiché but I like! More obstacles for the two bishies to pass and along with a main event in the later chapters which I shall keep a secret first ne? Of course whats a fic without the appearance of the other characters? (Sadly Anzu that -cough- is here too...) So read on and find out!

Warnings: Some rude/bad/crude language is to be expected. Of course there is the normal stuff, violence, suicidal thoughts and **slight** lust... With shouen-ai all over it! Bashing of Anzu too! Oh expect a lot of grammatical errors too! T.T I don't have MS Word in my computer...

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh or it's characters in any way (Although killing the current producer and hijacking it for myself seems like such a tempting idea...) and any similarities to other fanfics here are STRICTLY COINCIDENTIAL. I created this from random chains of thoughts in school by writing in a notebook.**

p/s: I tried to shorten the paragraphs too for the sake of the readers ne... X.X Hopefully it doesn't look weird...

**Please ignore the OCC-ness in this chapter. It was meant to be a little more 'light' and 'fangirl-ish' to kick start it all since the chances of seeing those in the rest of the chapters is 0.00000000000000000000000000001.**

Silent Whispers

Chapter 1

Normal POV (Seto)

Settled behind the tastefully polished lacquer wooden desk, a ravishing young man of barely seventeen looked intently into his sleek platinum laptop.

His soft chocolate locks framed his porcelain defined features, piercing azure eyes complimented his pale complexion. His toned body lay hidden from sight, under layers of expensive clothes specially tailored for him and him only. Upon the bridge of his nose set a pair of silver-rimmed glasses, partially shielded by his fringe.

His experienced fingers flew effortlessly over the keyboard, resulting in a constant tapping sound in the otherwise silent room.

With a sigh, the teen closed his eyes and slipped the glasses off. His slender fingers slowly and rhythmically massaging his sore nose bridge. His previously tensed shoulders slowly relaxed as he leaned back against the backrest of the fine Italian (1) leathered revolving chair.

He stayed in that position for quite a while, allowing the immense workload piled on his desk to slip from the recesses of his mind, allowing pure nothingness to wash over him, driving away all the stress from his work.

His usually stern features crumbled, leaving the true face of this handsome teen.

'Beep, beep, beep...'

He opened his tired eyes and muttered a silent curse under his breath. The rare moment of rest and relaxation rudely shattered by the machine from hell.

Sighing, he took his glasses from the table and folded it before placing it in its case and back into the drawer of his desk.

He pressed the tiny red button and the annoying beeping ceased, only to be replaced by a slightly muffled voice of a middle-aged woman. Unfortunately, it wasn't muffled enough to hide the slight giggle which escaped from her lips.

"Kaiba-sama, Kurosawa-san of Mitsuko Corporation wishes to speak to you about the cooperation of the latest project..." Another giggle floated into the room.

The brunette closed his eyes in exasperation. Why did all his secretaries have huge crushes on him? It revolted him.

Without letting go of the button, a cold business-like tone answered, "Send him in."

Without waiting for an answer, he removed his index finger from the button. He did not want to be bombarded by more senseless giggles from the woman.

Settling back into the comfort of his chair, his fingers unknowingly placed in a steeple position, elbows gently resting on the armrests at either side of him.

It was a good business opportunity, he knew, as he awaited the arrival of the other businessman.

His face held no hint of any emotions, a cold mask adorned once more. He was not just a teen, but Seto Kaiba, CEO of the world's largest gaming company -- the Kaiba Corporation. (A/N: Kaiba Corp for short!)

Normal POV (Katsuya)

Somewhere on the other side of town, another teen strolled casually home with his backpack slung over his shoulder. A soft melodious tune escaped from between his lips as he hummed to himself. His tie hung loosely from his neck, the top few buttons of his shirt undone, partially revealing his firm chest.

One of his hand slipped into the pocket of his pants, the other gripping onto a chocolate bar given to him by one of his best pals, Yugi Mutou.

He bit into the milkiness of the chocolate, enjoying how his teeth sank into its soft body, his tongue teased by the silky texture of the melting dark chocolate.

Savouring every bite he took, his face revealed nothing but pure joy and pleasure as he continued on his journey home, his slightly ruffled golden hair glistering under the soft sunlight.

It was a good day. He smiled happily.

-Flashback (Gym class)-

"Ok class, it's time for your assessment today."

Loud groans came from the class, happy faces did a one hundred and eighty degrees flip to a frown.

"Oh come on! Why do they need stupid assessments for PE (2) anyway!" The single-spiked hair boy cried in protest.

"Double that man!" Katsuya rolled his eyes and headed over to his group of pals. He did not understand why the school insisted that the students had to be tested in virtually every single class they attended, be it Art, Gym, Sciences etc...

"SILENCE!" The booming voice of the teacher silenced the riot which the students had created. "Today you will be tested on every skill taught since the beginning of the year. Five students will come up at a go for their assessments. I am giving you ten minutes of warm-ups and practice time. GO!"

All the students rushed to the various equipment, hoping to catch some practice time before being assessed by the worst gym teacher one could have. The gym was filled with chatters from the students, loud 'thud's resulting from the clumsy ones who fell off, couples gro-, you get the picture.

Katsuya and his friends headed over to a corner of the gym, wishing to detach themselves from the rest of the class. The girls were in another class learning dance for this module, while the guys were tortured with gym practices.

Perhaps it was a good thing that they were seperated, for fangirls of the duelists would be drooling fountains when they gaze at the athletic forms of their crushes. Still, the problem of guys drooling still persisted.

Katsuya sat down and started to do his stretching alongside Hiroto. He felt his stiff muscles slowly loosening up with each stretch he did, hoping that he wouldn't make a fool out of himself today. He was not going to be at the recieving end of the insults thrown by a certain teen CEO.

He glanced over to his other buddies. Yami was done stretching and was helping his hikari to do so. His strong arms gently pulled Yugi's forwards, aiding him in touching his toes. A tint of red graced the latter's face, his eyes shyly looking up to look at his yami.

"Thanks yami!" A cheerful grin spreaded across Yugi's face as he got up and dusted himself. Yami returned the smile with a twinkle in his eyes. He took Yugi's hand and brought him over to the balance beams, inwardly laughing at his hikari's surprised look and darkening blush.

Katsuya smiled at the two tri-coloured hair teens. They were enjoying each other's company, a lot. He knew ever since the duel city saga, Yugi started developing feelings for Yami. He started to look at his alter-ego in a different light. No longer just friends, or even brothers, but something more.

Yet Yugi being the innocent boy he was, did not dare voice it out to Yami. It took Katsuya ages to pry it out of the boy too. They later found out Yami felt the same way even before Yugi, and both of them became a couple instantly.

A yelp interrupted Katsuya's train of thoughts as he turned his head into the direction of the sound. All he could see was a certain pair of white-haired look-a-likes on top of one another. In a very suggestive position.

"'Kura get off me!" The more gentle of the two was trying to push the other off him. An evil glint flashed across Bakura's eyes as he leaned closer to Ryou.

"Make me," a husky whisper sent a tingle down the hikari's spine. How he hated it when Bakura used his hot and sexy voice to his advantage!

The ancient tomb raider grabbed the chance once his hikari had stopped struggling and brought him in for a kiss. A hot, passionate, lustful kiss continued between the two for the next few minutes until they were on the verge of suffocation from the lack of air.

Both panting, Ryou's face had turned beetroot red, his eyes averting the gaze from his yami. Bakura on the other hand, had a smug expression which spelt out victory written all across his face. He loved it when his hikari blushed, it sent his heart beating at ten times its normal speed.

The entire class, heck, more like the entire school knew about the relationship the yamis had with their hikaris. It didn't help that they had shared bodies with each other once, or that they had a telepathic connection with one another. Of course it caused hundreds of heartbreaks from all their fangirls and fanboys, but no one dared to say anything against them.

Reason?

Two weeks ago, give and take a day or two, an angry fangirl had stormed into the classrooms the gang shared and demanded to know why Yami and Bakura had chosen to go down the 'twisted' path -- in other words, why did they choose to love another male instead of the numerous gorgeous females stalking them. (A/N: -PUKES-)

Of course, it wasn't the first time girls had came crying their hearts out and confessing their love to our bishies (3) here. They had learnt to ignore the pools of tears which threatened to drown them and continued staring into the eyes of their true loves.

This girl however, took it a step further.

"How can you like that... That... Yugi!" Her face was twisted with rage and she practically spat Yugi's name out. "If you like Seto, I understand. If you go for Katsuya, fine. Even Bakura and Ryuuji are better than him!" That girl shouted at the Pharaoh's face.

A deep silence fell over the previously noisy class. Yugi was in a state of shock, he did not know his love for Yami caused the root of hatred to grow within fangirls of his yami. Before he could say anything, he sensed his yami moved.

Yami was silent throughout the outburst. A dark cloud settled across his eyes, beneath them, the amethyst eyes slowly filled with a dangerous shade of rage. A menacing aura radiated from the Egyptian, striking fear into the very hearts of those nearby.

Yugi too was shocked at the sudden change in his love. "Yami..." His voice was barely audible, as fearful round eyes gazed at the furious counterpart.

Ryou stared at the growing anger enveloping Yami, eyes wide open in shock. He had never seen him so furious before. Bakura merely looked at the hopefully interesting scene unfolding before him. This was going to be good.

The girl, being the air-headed fangirl she was just stood there with smoke, almost, literally coming out of her ears, glaring at the shorter duelist. By then, everyone in class (except Kaiba of course), turned to watch the commotion.

"Don't. You. Dare. Insult. Yugi." The aura surrounding the ancient Pharaoh grew more intense with the passing seconds. "And. Don't. You. Dare. Speak. To. Me. Like. That. Again." Dark orbs full of fury bore into the girl's eyes, causing her to gulp and take a few steps back for saftey measures. Not that it helped in the end.

Bringing himself to his full height, Yami got up from his seat. His lips moved rapidly, silent chants activating the Millenium Puzzle hanging around his neck. The previously invisible artifact emitted dazzling bright flashes, blinding those who stared right into it.

The girl, obviously getting freaked out by the current situation, took a few more steps back, eyes still glued onto the glowing puzzle. All the others in class too stared, mesmerised by the puzzle, yet an unexplained sense of fear unnerved each of them.

An evil smirk appeared on the previous tomb raider's lips. That girl was going to get more than what she bargained for.

The light grew brighter and bright, soon it almost caused the entire torso of Yami to be bathed in its glow. "Never, insult my aibou," with that, a concentrated beam shot towards the girl and before anyone could react, only a faint echo of her fading scream was left. In her place, only the ribbon which she had used to tie her hair was left, the sole evidence of her existence.

Everyone stared wordlessly at the now a lot calmer spirit. His face rivaled that of Kaiba's -- cold and emotionless. He returned to his seat beside his lover and continued flipping aimlessly through his textbooks.

Everyone, except Kaiba who was typing in his laptop, was still in shock at the whole episode. Yet not a word escaped from their mouths for fear the teen would send more of them into the Shadow Realm.

Bakura had resumed snogging his hikari, Anzu fainted (A/N: Her dying is better but I have more stuff in stored... -evil laughter-), Hiroto and Katsuya were in shock, mouths still hanging open over the entire incident, Yugi just watched his spirit silently.

Yugi continued looking at his yami. He sensed the anger within him fade away, letting the regret he felt for his actions seep into his mind.

_/Yami...?/_

_(I'm sorry aibou... I didn't know what took over me...)_

_/How... Are we to explain this?/_

_(I... Will find a solution...)_

_/Yami.../_

_(Hm?)_

_/Thanks... For standing... Up for.. Me.../_

_(Baka (4), that's what a lover should do right?)_

A blush followed the last sentence of their silent conversation as the day continued like nothing had happened.

Katsuya sighed. No one dared to touch, or even insult Yugi for fear of meeting the same fate as that girl. Thank goodness Malik and Marik had helped them wipe out the memories of those who were at the scene and the girl was classified as 'missing' in the police files.

Of course Bakura wasn't much better. Everytime a girl, or a guy, got too close to his hikari for his comfort, the next thing they knew, they were on the floor holded a broken and bleeding nose. That was if Bakura was in a good mood. Today, he didn't seem to be in the best of moods...

Ryou had went off to grab his towel from the other side of the gym. Being the friendly dude he was, he was soon engaged in a happy conversation with another guy who was working out near that area.

Bakura turned and saw his hikari chatting away, rather happily might I add, to a scumbag from his class. His eyes narrowed and he proceeded in their direction, cracking his knuckles as he stomped over.

"That, can't be good," Hiroto got up from the floor next to Katsuya. "Wonder who is more pitiful, Ryou-kun or that guy?" Katsuya wondered out loud as Bakura let fly a punch directly into that guy's stomach.

"'Kura!" Ryou's eyes widened as the other guy fell to the ground, clutching his stomach. "Stay away from MY Ryou!" Bakura was almost like he was in a trance. Like the demon possessed guy he was, his face looked perfectly terrifying as he grabbed the guy by his shirt, yanking him up to his eye level. "No one other than me is allowed to hook up with Ryou!" A dangerous hiss was directed at the trembling teen. Another punch found its way into the guy's face. A bruise soon formed, a thin trickle of blood visible from the side of his mouth.

"Bakura!" Katsuya, Hiroto, Yami and Yugi ran towards the crazed teen and tried to restrain him. "LET ME GO!" Bakura yelled and struggled to free himself. That bastard was not going to get away this easy for trying to hook up with his boyfriend! Even with the strength of four teens, they had trouble keeping the theif pressed onto the ground.

"LET ME G-", before he knew it, Bakura felt something soft and warm pressed against his lips. His body instantly relaxed and immediately held his hikari close to him. The four friends finally let go of the white-hair yami, wincing at the blows they had recieved from his struggles. Everyone knew the only ways to calm Bakura down were to number one, let he beat the victim to pulp. Or number two, Ryou kissing him. Of course the latter would be the most effective.

The two continued their make-out session till the teacher returned and commanded the class to get ready. A shrill whistle sounded and the first item of the assessment begun.

"First five out now!" Three nervous looking teens with Ryou and Bakura lined up in front of their teacher.

"Run till you reach the springboard, then use it to propel youselves over that," he pointed to a stack of sand-filled sacks piled high up. "Bonus points for mid-air stunts. Simple as that. Now go!"

The rest of the class watched from the sides, anxiously waiting for their turn.

Bakura easily propelled himself over and did a full body flip while in the air (5) with another full body twist, winning a steady stream of applause from the class. Ryou on the other hand, jumped on the springboard and barely skimmed over the sacks, only to land in his yami's arms. A blush crept onto his cheeks and the tomb raider carried him to a quiet corner of the gym, oblivious to the shaking of his teacher's head.

The next five people went up and this time two of them did not manage to make it across, thus were at the recieving end of a lecture from the teacher.

Katsuya was confident for this assessment. He had been jumping over big rocks and stones since he was young, not to mention he had a natural flair for gymnastics. This was going to be a piece of cake for him. He planned out his stunts carefully and anticipated the height he had to gain in order to do those. He was going to show the teacher how he could ace gym if he had wanted to as payback for the humiliation he got for getting a D in the tennis module the previous term.

"Honda Hiroto, Isa Takeshi (6), Jounouchi Katsuya, Kaiba Seto and Kusaki Kouji (6)."

The boys lined up in front of the teacher without any specific order. Of course, Kaiba took the lead without hesitation, while our little puppy Jou was last, after Hiroto.

A sharp whistle sounded.

Seto took off with endless speed and grace which made him seem like he was almost flying across the mat. His breathing was steady and even, muscles rippled with each step he took. His hair blown back by the wind revealed his flawless face, still devoid of emotions.

Navy blue eyes stared ahead as he leaped onto the spring board with enough force to propel him high into the air. With perfectly controlled motions, he did a seven hundred and twenty degrees twist in the air and a rapid somersault backwards and landed with a hard 'thud' on both feet. He did not even waver when he landed.

Silence hung over the air as everyone tried their best not to stare at him open-mouthed, with looks of awe plastered on their faces. Katsuya almost fainted when he saw the CEO's performance. Why did that guy have to be so good at every damn thing! His hopes sank a notch as he thought about his own 'routine'. That show-off...

Thunderous applause and cheers soon erupted as the brunette nonchalantly walked off the mat and to the back of the class. A wave of murmurs surfaced. To our favourite cold and emotionless businessman, it was just like the buzzing of an insect, steady and low, yet pure annoying.

The teacher too was surprised by the performance and took a while to recover. Blowing his whistle hard again, causing the students to cover their ears in a futile attempt to block out the shrill sound, the next student started his run.

Soon, it was Hiroto's turn. "Wish me luck," he mumbled to his blonde-haired friend and sprinted towards the springboard. He made it over relatively easily, but had only manged to do a full body twist in the air due to the lack of height in the air.

"Pheeeeee!" The darn whistle of doom had sounded. It was Jounouchi Katsuya's turn. He swallowed a huge lump which had formed in his throat and took his place on the mat. He looked at his friends in the crowd, hoping that their smiles and cheers would provide comfort for the lonely him standing on the mat, heart beating at a hundred miles an hour.

He returned them a weak smile and started running down the mat. Katsuya could feel his pulse quicken as he increased his speed. Surrounding air rushed past him, sending his messy locks flying all around his head. Non of that bothered him as he took a deep breath and jumped onto the springboard, feeling the adrenaline rush within as he soared into the air.

Without a moment's hesistation, he did a complete full body foward flip before doing a somersault backwards. He knew if he wasted too much time in the air, he would not be able to do his grand finale. A smile tugged at the ends of his mouth as he felt the sense of exhilaration increase. He stretched his arms in front of him and once he felt his palms come in contact with the rough texture of the sacks, he pushed off hard, allowing his body to fall backwards and landed, almost tripping, on both feet.

Katsuya's chest heaved in and out visibly. Beads of pespiration evident on his face, a light-headed feeling floated in his mind.

He blinked.

'I did it?' Katsuya could not believe himself. He had completed the routine without any errors!

Heaving a sigh of relief, he was welcomed back to reality by a even louder applause and cheers from the floor. 'Ha! Let's see who's the loser this time Kaiba!' With a triumph look on his face, he ran shakily to his pals, beaming widely. An endless flow of pats on his back and congratulations greatly helped his self-esteem. Finally he was good at something!

"That was awesome Jou!"

"I never knew you could do gymnastics!"

"Nice one dude."

"You need to teach that to us sometimes!"

Compliments were answered by a sheepishly grinning Jou thanking them all profusely. He had never recieved that many praises at a go before so he was feeling really awkward for the moment there.

Temporarily shutting out all the deafening cheers, he glanced at the CEO. Leaning against the wall of the gym, Seto's eyes were closed, his face betrayed no signs of emotions. 'That ought to shut him up for a while!' Katsuya thought of the previous torturous days of getting insults hurled at him whenever he was in the latter's sight.

Imagine what people would say if they knew Kaiba wasn't the best at everything! An image of fangirls chasing him with scythes popped into his mind. 'Maybe not the best idea...' He shuddered.

"PHEEEE!" This time, a sharper and louder whistle caught everyone's attention. "Enough talking. NEXT!"

"Let's see how the baka Pharaoh fares this time," Bakura taunted the previous ruler of Egypt. "Hn, let us see shall we, lowly tomb raider," with that, the tri-colored hair duo made their way to the mat who got an angry snarl from the theif in return.

As he waited for the next five people to take their places, which included Yugi, Yami and Ryuuji, the teacher walked up to the blonde who was still busy chatting away with Ryou and Hiroto.

"Jounouchi," Katsuya ceased his stream of words and turned his head to face the teacher. "Hai Soumi-sensei! (7)"

"Good job out there," Katsuya could have sworn he had almost fainted when the sensei thumped him hard on the back, a grin visible on his face.

The day just kept getting better.

Yugi was the first to go. Even with his disadvantage in height (A/N: I swear its true! Own experience!), he leaped over it gracefully, landing rather gently on his feet. Katsuya smiled at Yugi, watching him take a few steps back, off the mat and allowed ample space for his Yami to land.

Yami took off with a considerably slower speed than the rest, steadily gaining momentum as he approached the springboard. Like his hikari, he gracefully sprung up into the air and did a double somersault forwards with a half body twist before landing softly on the ground. He threw a smug look at Bakura before heading off with the shorter duelist.

Bakura smirked inwardly. There was no way his stunts would lose to that ancient king.

Finally it was Ryuuji's turn. Hiroto stopped his conversation with his pals and watched the long haired duelist take his turn.

Ryou looked at Katsuya quizzically. The latter just shrugged and both of them watched Ryuuji jumped.

Long black hair flowed in the wind, bring his dice earring into the view of the audience. His eyes shone with determination as he took flight. With a full body twist and a half flip, he concluded his routine.

Hiroto looked back at Ryou and Katsuya, "That was good wasn't it!"

The other two just stared at him dumbfounded, and shook their heads before heading towards Yugi and Yami. Poor Hiroto was left standing there, not knowing what had gotten into them. (A/N: Told you there would be hints haha!)

Finally, after what seemed like eternity, the assessment was over. The class gathered around the teacher and sat on the mat, impatiently waiting for their results to be announced.

"First of, I am glad to say that less than five of you had failed this assessment. The average grade for this module exceeds that of my expectations as well. Give yourselves a round of applause class. Good job."

A loud cheer and happy shouts immediately surfaced, of course with the exception of Kaiba, and those who knew they had failed. Katsuya cheered the loudest as his mood soared even higher into the sky. He still could not believe that he out-performed the supposedly perfect Kaiba Seto!

One by one, their names were called out with the grades they had attained.

"Bakura, A minus; Bakura Ryou, C plus..."

"WHAT!" Bakura roared. How could he have gotten an A minus ?? He was sure he would get at least an A for his routine! "I demand to know why I didn't get my A!" His eyes turned fiery red as his temper soared to a new height.

"I will be reading out the points allocated for the stunts later Bakura. Please sit down." The last sentence was not a request, but more of a command.

'No one talks to me like that!' Bakura started to chant softly, only to be interrupted by his sweet lovely hikari grabbing him by the shoulders and pulling him in for a big, tight, hug. "Don't bother about such things love..." Ryou whispered softly before gently nipping the tip of his ear. An evil smile appeared on the yami's face, as he let his hand wander lower and lower the innocent one's back...

"Honda Hiroto, B; Isa Takeshi (6), C plus; Jounouchi Katsuya, A plus; Kaiba Seto, A plus; Kusaki Kouji, D..."

Everyone's eyes looked at the two teens who aced the assessment. The Kaiba actually tied with someone! He was usually top of class for everything, be it in his studies, arts, sports... This day would go down in history!

'What? I... Tied?' A slightly disappointed look dawned on our cheerful puppy's face. He was looking forward to beating Kaiba, not getting the same grades!

He let the frown disappear immediately as more congrats from his friends came. From the side of his amber orbs, he stole a quick glance at Kaiba. Sadly, there was no change in his expression still. Like a statue, he stood leaning against the wall of the gym, his usually cold eyes shut, face devoid of emotions.

Damn, Katsuya had absolutely no idea how Seto could keep such a straight, emotionless face at all times! He almost seemed like a robot sometimes. Not to mention he was practically perfect...

"Mutou Yugi, B; Mutou Yami, A minus; Otogi Ryuuji, B plus..."

A smile spreaded across Yugi's face as he realised he did not get a C like he had expected. Yami place a muscular arm around his hikari's shoulder, turning to look at Bakura with a smirk purely evident on his flawless face, taking time to enjoy the rage growing in the King of Thieves.

The teacher cleared his throat, causing another hush in the class. "As one of us had so politely requested," he made sure an emphasis was placed on the word 'politely', "I will be reading out the points allocation for the assessment."

"Forward somersault, one point; full body twist, one point; backward somersault, two points; full body flip, two points..."

Katsuya did a quick calculation, which means both he and Kaiba had accumulated an extra four bonus points for their routines. However, Bakura had a three points lead and Yami missed by half a point...

"I got half a point more than that damn Yami! Why is my grade not higher than his!" Bakura stood up angrily and glared at the teacher.

The teacher placed his score sheet down and looked at Bakura without too much pleasure. "Yes, you did get more bonus points than Yami. However your landing was not as controlled as him, so he gained extra points in that area."

Bakura's face turned to a shade of purple as he sat down unwillingly. How could that Pharaoh get the same grade as him? For the rest of the day, he made sure he shot eye daggers at the latter, hopefully beat him up if he had the chance, which of course he didn't.

"The top scorer for this assessment, which won by a margin of half a point, is non other than Jounouchi Katsuya!"

"Wha??" Katsuya looked around confusedly, not understanding what had just happened. How could he had beaten Kaiba?

"Thanks to his unique ending, he had managed to gain extra points for his routine!"

"Grats dude!" Hiroto gave him a friendly punch on the back. "You finally beat that cold-hearted bastard!" Katsuya was still in shock from the announcement and all he could do was stand there and be showered by congratulations from his classmates.

'This got to be the best day of my life!' The blonde beamed and rushed out with his friends to the shower room.

For the rest of the day, Katsuya and his gang could hear whispers of his 'achievement' in gym class. Although Kaiba showed no signs of anger at the blonde, he did not throw any witty insults at the latter even when he passed right beside them on the way to class. That made Katsuya extremely happy. 'No more dog jokes yes!' He had a hard time resisting the urge to shout that out and pump his fist into the air, but he knew that could disrupte his current 'fame' and 'glory'.

"Did you hear? My Seto-kun was beaten by that darn Jounouchi in gym!"

"No way! He is PERFECT!"

"I know! The world must be ending! Let's kill that mutt for hurting our Seto!"

On the other hand, rabid fangirls of Kaiba Seto chased poor Katsuya all around school with their pom-poms, threatening to suffocate him with their evil fluffballs of doom for beating Seto in gym. 'Still, it was worth it to see Kaiba's name go down for once in history!' Katsuya thought as he dived into an empty classroom to escape the crazy fangirls. Thank goodness their IQ was that of their shoe sizes...

-End flashback-

Katsuya took another bite out of the chocolate bar. He managed to sneak into school even after the bell for the first class had gone off. Thank goodness that Math teacher was later than he was. His teachers even let him off for not handing in his homework! His spirits continued to raise into the vast cerulean skies with every step he took as he proceeded home.

_xl-To be continued...-lx_

(1): Don't ask me why Italian! It just came to me...X.X;

(2): PE Physical Education (I will be referring to it as gym class from now!)

(3): For those unfamilar with the term, it simply means bishouen, or pretty boy!

(4): Baka Stupid/Idiot, in this case the former.

(5): Don't ask me, I think that's achievable if they are awesome gymnasts right? Lolz.

(6): Random people for the sake of putting them there. It's in alphabetical order of their surnames.

(7): Translated: Yes Mr Soumi/Teacher Soumi! The name was conjured up by me... :/

Mystickal: OMG! I finished chapter 1! Not to mention this is probably like the longest chapter for a fanfic I had written so far... I had to make the chapter based on the flashback since I wanted you guys to understand the entire background of it all currently haha! And yes, I am long-winded lolz! The next chapter will be more 'present' than this don't worry! More Katsuya and Seto (not Katsuya x Seto YET sadly) goodness in the next chapter! -evil laughter- Read and Review please! I will love you all if you do so! -gives out Katsuya and Seto plushies- -runs before a certain blonde and brunette kills me...-


	2. Perfect Just Perfect

Mystickal: OMG! The second chapter is here! I don't believe it, I actually had the motivation to continue! Seriously, it is rather rare for me not to lose motivation and interest once I have gotten over the peak of my fangirlism. Sorry for the ultra lengthy previous chapter, I couldn't resist adding in the flashback... It just came to me when I typed the chapter into the computer yeap. Don't worry, I don't take **TOO** much pleasure in torturing my readers (if I have any) by giving them chapters of impossible length! Sorry too for the long due chapter! Once you are in my school, you will understand why...

So for this chapter, nope, I won't have any flashbacks... I hope. Let's just say Katsuya's day can't be that wonderful right? As the evil and all-powerful fanfic authouress, I shall twist the poor puppy's fate and let him suffer! Mwhahahaha! Woohoo, there will be both Seto and Katsuya goodness in this chappie! Just not Seto WITH Katsuya or vice versa... Yet. Patience... -innocent smile-

I will be using simple Japanese phrases here too. Most should have explainations at the end of the fic so don't fret! Numbers behind sentences etc will be explained at the end of the fic too. All thoughts of characters in **'xxxx' **and speeches in **"xxxx"**. Thoughts between the yamis and hikaris are enclosed in_**(xxxx) **_and _**/xxxx/ **_respectively.

Once more, warning: **SHOUEN-AI** So **don't like don't read** ok? Or my buddy, Urasai the fire extinguisher will have to spray people. Trust me it's not too nice to get cold foam stuck on your face... -shivers-

Pairings: Seto KaibaxKatsuya Jounouchi (main), YamisxHikaris, slight Honda x Otogi. Setting: Domino, hometown to our darlings! Another warning, I will probably add Anzu bashing somewhere in the fic too! -evil-

Even more warnings: Some rude/bad/crude language is to be expected. Of course there is the normal stuff, violence, suicidal thoughts and **slight** lust... Oh expect a lot of grammatical errors too! T.T I don't have MS Word in my computer...

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh or it's characters in any way (Although kidnapping the producer and holding him ransom for the ownership of the anime sounds so tempting...) and any similarities to other fanfics here are STRICTLY COINCIDENTIAL. I created this from random chains of thoughts in school by writing in a notebook.**

p/s: The chapter should be a lot shorter than the previous, so hopefully that won't turn people off ne... T.T

Ok onto chapter 2 then! R&R please:)

Silent Whispers

Chapter 2

Normal POV (Katsuya)

The blonde reached the steps leading to his house. He swung his bag to the front with a fluid motion, and reached into it to rummage for his house key.

'Darn it,' he dropped his bag onto the floor and knelt down beside it. "Come on..." Fingers sieved through books, snacks and stationary, yet not a trace of his house key could be seen.

"Otosan(1) will slaughter me if I lose it!" Frantically, he re-searched his bag for that illusive key. He emptied out the contents within and a look of worry crossed his handsome face as he merticulously scanned the pile for his key.

Katsuya knew hell would be waiting to swallow him up if he did not find the key. The owner of the house would demand a replacement and that was where the problem arose.

Knowing the financial difficulties both he and his dad are going through, his budget was way too tight to afford one. Even with him juggling his school work with outside jobs, money was still a sensitive topic for the Jounouchis.

Flipping through the books to make sure the key was not trapped between their pages, a sense of defeat soon dawned on our teen. The key was nowhere in his bag that was for sure.

He gathered up the mess of school stuff from the ground and placed them back into the bag. Standing up, his hands immediately dived into all the pockets of the clothes he was in.

As his fingers contacted the bottom of the pockets, Kastsuya was silently sending a prayer to whoever was listening in the heavens, hoping that the key was in one of them.

Unfortunately, our puppy seemed to have used up his luck for the day.

"Oh crap," he cursed and slammed his fist against the wall beside the door of his home. He knew that he was so going to get it this time.

He could see it now, his father coming home from his part-time job, short-tempered due to fatigue and frustration. He would be in for a hell of a beating tonight.

"Argh! How could I be so careless damn it!" The teen slumped down against the rickety old frame of the aged wooden door, feeling the cold of the concrete seeping into his anxious heart. It's icy cold fingers slowly gripping it tighter and tighter, watching in slight amusement as the blonde struggled to catch his breath as worry grew within him.

"No..." He laid his head against his palms, both knees drawn up to his chest, face twisted with dejection and frustration. He sqeezed his eyes shut tightly, trying his best to will the images of possible beatings from his father out of his head.

The pain, the anger, the fear... What was worst was the look of pure rage to the point of insanity upon his father's face... Katsuya stayed huddled in a ball, wishing this was all nothing but a nightmare.

There the miserable teen sat, trying his best to run away from the fact that his seemingly perfect day had just been ruined, all because of his carelessness. Crystalline tears peaked from beneathe his eyelids, threatening to race down his flawless face.

'Calm down, calm down damn it! Getting agitated won't help ease matters up!' He looked up at the wall across of him, vandalised by the thugs who claimed this part of town as their own.

The plaster peeled from the wall slowly, just like how his own defences were falling off, leaving him vunerable to the attacks from others. Each graphitti matching the scars and humiliation splashed onto him, driving him deeper into his protective cover, leaving noting but a frail attempt of keeping his mask on against the cruel world.

Beneathe those joyous laughter and sunny smiles, lies the painful hidden scars of the past, slowing tearing him apart. Yet the blonde tried to survive day after day, ignoring the gaping wounds littered on his body and soul, striving on until the day he finally collasped. All that lay then would be the remnants of his mere outer shell, devoid of life.

After what seemed like eternity, Katsuya finally snapped out of his trance and glanced at the scratched and worn-out face of his wristwatch.

'Great, I have barely an hour before my doom befalls onto me...' He shut his watery eyes and leaned his head back against the wall, deep in thought.

'Think Katsuya think! Where was the last time you saw it!' Once more, he shut his amber orbs in deep concentration, coaxing the previous events of the day to resurface in his mind's eye.

'Went to school, locked the door, key went into my bag... Come on...' The joyful events of the seemingly blissful day rushed back to him. 'No, not during school, must have been after it...'

He remembered going to his locker to place his books down, then he took out his notebook, and pondered if he should bring that home. He thought better of it then since it was too risky to give anyone even a chance to peek into the hidden dark secrets which it held, all fresh from the depths of his heart.

Katsuya's mind started to wander... To a certain someone... Tall, slender and perfect with gorgeous features that would make everyone go weak in their knees...

'No!' Shaking his head violently, he cleared his mind of the brunette, cursing him under his breath for never failing to invade his thoughts at every moment of the day. Still, there was a tugging feeling at the back of his mind which wanted to continue thinking of the certain someone, it was the only thing which a Jounouchi like him was entitled to.

He was way out of his pathetic league, a perfect being at a level above the rest. No one else could match up to him, let alone a low-life like himself. Katsuya could only admire the lonely angel from afar, letting its beauty enter his undeserving eyes, easing the aching feeling in his heart, even if it was just for a moment. The puppy knew the angel would never feel the same way towards him.

Forcing himself to concentrate on the dilemma at hand, he thought of his next line of attack. 'I should retrace my steps from when I left school... Hopefully my luck will change...'

Sighing, he got up unsteadily and slung his bag onto his shoulder, one hand in the pocket of his pant's pocket before walking out from that hellhole of a building into the warmth and radiance of the Sun.

'How wonderful,' he thought. 'A few minutes in the hellhole revertes one's mood from that of cheerfulness and joy into anger and worry.'

Momentarily blinded by the brilliant light, he retraced his steps along the dusty sdewalks of Domino, praying to see the gleam of his silver house key. Mumbling under his breath, he started off on his quest knowing if he failed, the Grim Reaper would be waiting to collect his soul in less than an hour.

Normal POV (Seto)

'Hai, Kaiba-sama(2). I will be there in a minute." 'Beep!', the speaker went off.

The young CEO placed his platinum laptop carefully into its sleek black leather case. Taking the heavy pile of documents from the lacquered wooden desk, he placed it into a thick ring file systematically.

He then took a step back and surveyed his handiwork of tidying his office for a moment before leaving the room, locking the magestically carved door behind him.

'Kaiba-sama, your ride is here,' a bulky muscular bodyguard accompanied him to his posh limousine. For the Seto Kaiba, CEO of Kaiba Corp., nothing but the absolute best and of the highest end was in his possession.

A well-dressed middle aged man appeared from behind the front door of the car and with a polite hand gesture, ushered the impatient CEO into the car, taking extra care to hold the door open for his boss to settle in comfortably before gently closing it behind him.

"You are early today Kaiba-sama, may I know where is your next destination?" The chaffeur asked.

"Home," a curt reply of an emotionless tone came almost immediately.

"Hai, Kaiba-sama," with that, the black limousine disappeared into the warm hues of the setting sun.

Normal POV (Katsuya)

"Oh darn it," the anxious teen was on the verge of breaking out into a full-fledged panic attack.

'No, I must... Keep my cool...' He bit his bottom lip hard and resumed his trail once more. 'This can't be happening to me!'

He bent down low until he could spy every speck of dust and dirt on the stony pavement. Beads of pespiration gleamed across his fair skin, his brows furrowed in concentration as he took as small a step as he possibly could from his home back to the now empty school.

Spying a glittering silver piece lying on the side of the road, Katsuya could feel his spirits lifted up and a smile broke across his face.

"YES!" He dashed towards the shiny metal on the ground. "Damn! Almost thought I was a goner for sure!"

Joyfully, he picked the key up with his slender fingers, and flipped it over.

His heart sank.

"Damn it!" It was the wrong key. The 'T' shaped scratch on the back of the key wasn't there. It belonged to another unlucky soul, just not him.

"Hell, I have to go now if I were to make it back on time and reduce the amount of beatings I will recieve..." With a last desperate look around, the blonde tried to hide his growing disappointment as he took off into the darkening evening.

Normal POV (Seto)

Sitting comfortably in his limousine, Seto stared out of his tainted glass windows onto the streets of Domino. He was fast approaching the rural and undeveloped areas of the city. Their conditions never failed to appal him.

With litter and goodness-knows-what decorating almost every possible inch of the sidewalks, he did not understand how anyone could survive in such a state of dilapidation.

He was sure that the buildings creaked whenever a fierce gale announced its arrival, the pipping and wirings did not look too comforting either.

A faraway 'boom' jolted the CEO out of his thoughts. Flashes of light illuminated the dusty grey clouds hovering in the heavens.

'A storm is heading this way. It would be best to return home before it starts,' the businessman used the phone connected to his driver's compartment of the unimaginably long car and hurried him on the journey home.

He then settled back into the comfort of his leather seats and took out a bottle of ice cool mineral water from the mini refridgerator within. Twisting the cap off, he smirked inwardly knowing how convinient it was to be this well-off.

As the iciness of the water flowed steadily down his parched throat, moisturing his lips, dried from endless hours in the air-conditioned office of his, a sense of calmness washed over him.

Placing the cup back onto the bottle, he looked out of the window once more, glad that he was protected from the impending wrath of Mother Nature.

_xl-To be continued...-lx_

(1): Father in Japanese. (I trust it should be correct yeap.)

(2): Means 'Yes, Master Kaiba' in Japanese.

Mystickal: Sorry for the late chappie once more! Not like anyone actually reads it anyway lolz. Anyway, this chapter is a lot shorter to make up for the hell long first chapter. Perhaps I will split it into two chapters... If no one minds, that is for those who read this... I will leave it this way. Next chapter coming up soon! Perhaps in a day or two since I have almost everything written in pen on paper hehe. More Katsuya and Seto goodness in the following chapter don't worry! Sorry if the characters are slightly OOC! This is my first time attempting a KatsuyaxSeto fic!

Seto: ...

Katsuya: Why you... -runs after authouress-

Mystickal: -gulps- Gotta fly! -runs-

Katsuya: Come back here you!

Rest of cast: Stay tuned for the next chapter!

Mystickal: -shouts over shoulder while running- Read and Review and the bishies will love eu! -runs as everyone chases after her with sticks and stones-


	3. Nature's Wrath and Murphy's Law

Mystickal: Finally! The long awaited (For me at least) 3rd chapter! Sorry for keeping those who even bother looking at this fic, wait! Trust me, life has been more than hell for me with my hectic schedules and homework load. Don't you just hate school? Don't worry, the story will not be discontinued since I have up to at least chapter 6 in my notebook, just that I never had the time to type it all out! T.T Well now I guess I felt bad owing you all so here is the next chappie! Enjoy! What will happen to our dear puppy? Sorry guys, no fluff YET!

It's a tad bit short. I know. . 

WARNING: Coarse language expected in this chapter! . Sorry to those with delicate ears/eyes (or whatever)!

I will be using simple Japanese phrases here too. Most should have explainations at the end of the fic so don't fret! Numbers behind sentences etc will be explained at the end of the fic too. All thoughts of characters in **'xxxx' **and speeches in **"xxxx"**. Thoughts between the yamis and hikaris are enclosed in_**(xxxx) **_and _**/xxxx/ **_respectively.

Once more, warning: **SHOUEN-AI** So **don't like don't read** ok? Or my buddy, Urasai the fire extinguisher will have to spray people. Trust me it's not too nice to get cold foam stuck on your face... -shivers-

Pairings: Seto KaibaxKatsuya Jounouchi (main), YamisxHikaris, slight Honda x Otogi. Setting: Domino, hometown to our darlings! Another warning, I will probably add Anzu bashing somewhere in the fic too! -evil-

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh or it's characters in any way (Although kidnapping the producer and holding him ransom for the ownership of the anime sounds so tempting...) and any similarities to other fanfics here are STRICTLY COINCIDENTIAL. I created this from random chains of thoughts in school by writing in a notebook.**

Don't kill me for maanipulating poor Katsuya-kun ok? T.T I couldn't help it! Love, hugs and kisses for all those who R&R!

Silent Whispers

Chapter 3

Normal POV (Katsuya)

Running as quickly as his legs could take him, our blonde was in a race against one of his most dreaded opponents of all -- Mother Nature.

'This day just gets better and better doesn't it,' he grimmaced as another flash of lightning illuminated the greying skies above, followed by a heart-stopping thunderous boom. His cloak was whipping wildly in the fierce gale, and his duffel bag bounced crazily as he dashed for home.

In the faint light provided by the occasional flashes of lightning, he could just barely make out the streets layed out in front of him, as the skies turned into a deep shade of grey, such a foreboding color, the perfect compliment to his current mood as well.

He manuvered effortlessly through the maze of dark twisted alleys with ease, his experienced limbs flying over the ground. A small grin appeared at the edges of his mouth as he was filled with confidence that he could beat Nature's fury.a

After making the last ninety-degrees sharp turn to his left, he was once more back near the main road, barely three more minutes till he was 'safe' under the protection from the buildings.

Groaning, the misfortune of the earlier afternoon flashed across his memory once again. Either way, he was doomed. Even if Nature had spared him, his father's wrath was another story.

'Yes!' Katsuya thought gladly as the tip of the dingy building came into sight. His spirits immediately lifted ever so slightly, as a new rush of adrenaline propelled him forward at an ever-increasing pace.

Just when he was around two hundred metres from the almost-collapsing building, he felt a few large wet drops fall gently on the outercoat of his uniform.

'Kuso.(1)'

He cursed under his breath and made a break for the shelter. The intensity of the rain steadily increased and the cool rain water slipped down the nape of his neck and raced down the thin film of sweat lining his back. Heat fused with the coolness and his head throbbed painfully as he raced the last leg back to his house.

'Vroom...' The soft purr of a car's engine was heard admist the pitter and patter from the teardrops of heaven.

Turning his head around, he barely had a chance to dive towards the side, narrowly avoiding a possibly fatal collision with the vehicle.

A huge wave of muddy water from a huge puddle by the road crashed onto the already drenched (a/n: Might I add pissed off too) teen, causing him to fall back onto the ground, spluttering the foul-tasting water from his mouth.

When he finally wiped the rain and the murky water from his stinging eyes, the frustrated teen turned to look at the car. Unfortunately for him, the windows were tainted a dull black, preventing any strangers from invading the owner's privacy. Perfect.

Ignoring the overpowering urge to drag the driver down from the car and give him a freaking piece of his mind, Katsuya turned around, fists clenched, and continued towards his final destination, at the same time muttering curses from his wide vocabulary of vulgarities. (a/n: Don't you all want to know where he acquired those from!)

Brushing the dirt and fallen leaves off his unsightly uniform and bag, he continued towards the nearing building. Why was it always him who ended up with all these crap? Damn the Murphy's Law.

Normal POV (Seto)

Icy blue pools merged with the darker grey ones in the skies. The dusty skies with the lightning god hidden within the clouds of illusion, a signal of rage and displeasure. He knew that he would not beat the rain at this pace.

The previously cotton white clouds had finally showed their true colors, minions of the mighty one, who resided amongst them, awaiting the commands from their master to strike fear in the hearts of the mere mortals.

Almost like they were on cue, the armies took their positions upon the vast battlefield and prepared themselves. Soon, the mighty Zeus roared, sending with his voice, botls of deadly lightning. Gentle maidens silently shed tears, bringing upon their sadness onto Earth as well.

But Seto smirked.

He was not just any other human. He was THE Seto Kaiba, CEO of the world's leading gaming company, the Kaiba Corp.

Petty folklores and myths of the so-called divine beings who wielded power over one's fates, nothing but mere lies meant for naiive children. No one but him could control his destiny.

Manipulation of those around him, along with his undying quest for power had brought him to such a stage. He was not about to let some old wives' tale get the better of him.

In fact, he took pride and joy in defying the laws of nature. Not through the senseless defying of gravity via space walking techniques, or even immortality (Which he would like to get his hands on, if he could). Instead, he dodged every attack thrown against him by Mother Nature. Shielded and protected himself from her devastating effects. There was no way Nature could get the better of him, or chase him around like a mere animal.

Despite the continual efforts made by the former, with its ferocity and honour of being the majestic Mother Nature, the latter had managed to outwit its every single technique, rendering it helpless against his cunning tactics.

Not surprising. He was afterall, Seto Kaiba, CEO of the world's leading gaming company, the Kaiba Corp.

The light drizzle soon intensified to a full blown storm. Gentle drops mutated into bullets from the holy armies, no longer innocent and harmless tears, but liquid acid, slowing biting into the flesh of those unlucky enough to risk its wrath. The howl of the armies threatened to blow humanity over, to claim its rightful place as our lord.

Deep inside the safety and comfort of his ride, these bullets pelted harmlessly against his protection. Even though the gods tried to get back at him by coating the eroded surface of the road with a later of clear oil, Seto made sure his tyres had an iron grip on the ground, once more escaping the clutches of the higher beings.

The constant drumming on his roof of the car was soothing to his ears despite his previous arrogance towards the nonexistent divine beings. A melancholic melody by an invisible soloist, each note precisely played and strucked, gently easing the tension in his body, releasing his mind of all thoughts. Imaginary fingers slowly messaged his tensed temples, coaxing him to let go of all his thoughts.

It was just him, gently guided by the string of notes, slowly freeing himself from the web of worries...

A high pitched screech shattered his peaceful moment and before the young CEO's mind could register anything, the car was violently jerked forward and swerved to the left dangerously, causing him to fly from his seat.

Seto landed hard on his side, sprawled across the velvet mats on the floor, and his heartbeat increased a notch. His head had just missed coming into contact with the sharp edge of the refrigerator, the price of having too luxurious a car. With his heart still pumping at an unnatural pace, he felt the car slow to a stop and he slowly got back up, aware of his aching shoulder bone. Hopefully it would not develop into a bruise.

Checking to make sure he did not recieve any injuries besides the painful burning in his arm as well, Seto was going to give that driver a lesson he would never forget once they arrive back home.

Just as he glanced out of the window, a flash of sunshine yellow, a sharp contrast to the gloomy surroundings, caught his eye. It belonged to a teen who was around the same age as him, with a tall (But no where near him), and slender (Same again) figure. He looked uncannily familar as well. He reminded him of someone in his class... A certain someone...

Seto looked away from the window and rearranged his suit back to its original prim and proper state, double checking that nothing had rolled out of his pockets as well. He had to look prim and proper wherever he went, whatever the time and place was not an excuse.

'What was his name again...' The older Kaiba pondered for a moment, face still void of emotions. He was never too good with names. The only names he bothered remember were those essential in his quest to the top.

'Jinouchi Tatsuya? No...' 'Jounouchi Tetsuya? Not even close...' 'Ah yes, Jounouchi Katsuya, that baka inu (1).'

His trademark smirk found its way back onto his perfectly shaped lips. That boy usually hung out with the other pathetic Duelist fanatics, and sat at the opposite end of the class from him. Which was even better, since his outrageously high IQ would not diffuse out to him due to the huge difference in their intellect levels.

Insults aside, why would he be running through this part of Domino in such a storm? Seto quickly cleared that thought. Why was he even bothering about that lowlife anyway? Besides the fact that he wanted him skinned alive for almost killing him.

The sound of the privacy window being wounded down by his chaffeur was heard and a worried yet timid face appeared behind the tinited glass.

"Kaiba-sama, are you all right?"

A glare from the teen spoke more than any amount of words could say. He was fuming.

"I am sorry... A boy just dashed across the road from nowhere and..." His voice quivered and a glimpse of fear was evident in his emerald eyes. Everyone knew it was no wise to go against someone with the power and status like the Kaibas, if they wanted to live that was.

"You better have a back-up job in mind," cold eyes flashed dangerously. "We aren't at the mansion, so why are we stopping?" A cold reply came, topped with a slight dash of sacrasm.

Fearing the anger of his boss, the chaffeur averted his gaze from the daggers being shot from the steel cold glare of the teen behind, meekly nodded and went back to starting the car. Slowly but steadily it accelerated on the wet streets, brining the CEO back to the comfort of his mansion.

Normal POV (Katsuya)

"Darn that freaking car..." Katsuya muttered once more with seething anger dripping almost visibly from each word. Who the hell did that guy think he was anyway? Scaring the living daylights out of him...

The rain stung his eyes even more and the acrid taste of dirt from the ground was still fresh in his mouth despite the numerous attempts to expel it with rainwater.

"If I ever find out who that guy is... I will pound his sorry arse to pulp!"

He balled his fists up in a fit of rage to the point of him feeling his nails biting painfully into his flesh. He had better pray now, for his dad will show him the true meaning of pain when he finds him home late, and worse, in this state.

He ran the last leg uncomfortably with his pants soaked thoroughly and causing the material to stick to him even more than how lycra would. His mop of golden hair was blended with dark brown from patches of mud and dirt on the ground. His locks were entangled to the point of them being equivalent to a bird's nest, although he had tried his best to straighten them a little with his fingers. Sadly, it got it even muddier and more tangled up than before.

Resigning to fate, he entered the pathetic excuse of a building and readied himself before entering his home.

A dim light filtered through the cracked windows, giving the corridors a ghostly effect. Along with the occasional flashes of lightning and thunderous booms from the darkening skies, it painted the perfect scene for a horror film.

Katsuya gulped. Shuffling of feet could be heard from behind the door, and a single ray of light was barely visible behind the frosted and dusty glass. Murphy's law had gotten the better of him once more.

His father had made it home before him.

A chill ran down his aching spine, the scythe of the Grim Reaper taunting him, pushing him towards his impending doom.

With palms clammy with cold sweat, he painfully knocked on the rotted wooden door, ignoring the bits of insects and wood which flew into his face, wishing that he could just dash away when the Gestapo opened it. Yet he stood his ground, knowing that he was all that drunk of a father had.

An eerie and skin-crawling creak sounded and he door swung open loudly.

Behind stood a middle aged man with messy locks just like the teen's, but its once golden gleam had long faded, leaving nothing more than a dull dirty feel left. His face was not smooth-shaven, his patched clothes hung loosely over him. His feet were bare, resting on the dust-ridden floor. In his breath, the familar stench of cheap beer and choking cigarette smoke lingered. There stood his father. Kai Jounouchi.

For once, he did not seem drunk. Thankfully.

_xl-To be continued...-lx_

(1): Meaning 'darn it' in Japanese. It should be spelt this way. . 

(2): 'Baka inu', which means stupid dog in Japanese.

(3): Meaning 'father' in Japanese.

Mystickal: Finally, the third chapter is up. Watch out for the new chapter in a week or even in a few days! (I have decided to cut down on the length of this chapter so I divided it into two chapters instead!

Seto: ...

Katsuya: T.T I don't like where this is going...

Mystickal: Awww... -pats little Katsuya on the head- It's not too bad... I hope. -.-'" And sorry for no fluffiness yet! I have to admit there is a lengthy character development and description but I wanted the link between the two bishies to be established... So please bear with me! I do PROMISE fluff in the LATER chapters though! So don't fret!

Seto: For the last time, I do not like that baka inu.

Mystickal: Aww... Don't lie to your heart! We all know you have the hots for our cute little blonde! -insert fangirl squeals here-

Katsuya: O.o

Mystickal: That's all for now! Keep watching this fic for updates if anyone bothers to read my fics! Ja na!


	4. Of Pains and Pleasure

Mystickal: Ahh, this chapter will be longer than the previous two. -.-;; After reading the newest review, I've decided to try lengthening my chapters a little more, although I promise not to torture you all with any exceeding the length of 5000 to 5500 words. Thanks to that review, I can finally make improvements to my story:D Thank you! I will be watching out for grammatical errors, although I am unable to guarentee a full 100 accuracy I am afraid. As for the POVs used, I have decided to continue sticking with them for now. To me, when I was still a relatively new fan of YGO, I had trouble understanding who on earth was the 'puppy' and 'seahorse' since I did not really realise the japanese characters in Seto's surname name or that the puppy was referring to Katsuya always being called a 'make inu' (pathetic dog) by Seto... So don't kill me for them!

I just realised that this fic does get read! O.O I thought only like one or two people would read it but seems like there are a lot of silent lurkers fufufufufu... Thanks to all those silent people for reading this amatuer's fic! Arigato gozaimasu minna-san! (Thank you all!) -bows- Keep the reviews coming! They DO brighten up my day!

WARNING: Coarse language to be expected in this chapter! . Sorry to those with delicate ears/eyes (or whatever)! I had to insert them in here to create the atmosphere and mood... Imagine using words like 'arrogant fool', or 'brat' as the worst possible swears in the Jounouchis' household... I don't think it would be too appropriate... Violence can be expected as well. If you hate the look/description of blood, skip all the way to Seto's POV!

I will be using simple Japanese phrases here too. Most should have explainations at the end of the fic so don't fret! Numbers behind sentences etc will be explained at the end of the fic too. All thoughts of characters in **'xxxx' **and speeches in **"xxxx"**. Thoughts between the yamis and hikaris are enclosed in_**(xxxx) **_and _**/xxxx/ **_respectively.

Once more, warning: **SHOUEN-AI** So **don't like don't read** ok? Or my buddy, Urasai the fire extinguisher will have to take action. Trust me it's not too nice to get cold foam stuck on your face... -shivers-

Even more warnings: Some **rude/bad/crude language **is to be expected especially in this chapter. Of course there is the normal stuff, violence, suicidal thoughts and **slight** lust later in the story... Oh expect a lot of grammatical errors too! T.T I don't have MS Word in my computer...

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh or it's characters in any way (Although kidnapping the producer and holding him ransom for the ownership of the anime sounds so tempting...) and any similarities to other fanfics here are STRICTLY COINCIDENTIAL. I created this from random chains of thoughts in school by writing in a notebook.**

Don't kill me for manipulating poor Katsuya-kun ok? T.T I couldn't help it! Don't kill me!!! Love, hugs and kisses for all those who R&R!

Silent Whispers

Chapter 4

Normal POV (Katsuya)

"Hey Otosan (1)..."

The younger blonde tried to form a small smile despite his heart racing within him.

"Sorry, I got caught up in the storm and all..."

He stuttered as he tried to explain with futile efforts, anticipating the hard slap across his face from the man in front of him.

"Told ya (2) to come home and get the bloody dinner ready, what's so damn hard about that?!" His father roared at him and slammed the already rickety door behind him.

Katsuya winced inwardly as he felt himself being yanked up by his father, who was grabbing onto his uniform's collar.

"Listen here ya punk, I don't care how but I want the goddamned dinner ready once I get back ya hear?!" His voice was like the jagged edge of a blade, slowly ripping his son up. Causing both pain and frustration to be added on to the internal torture it started.

Although the teen's mind was filled with angry thoughts and he was on the verge of losing it once more, he knew better than to answer back. It would only make things worse.

"Sorry Otosan, I was held up..."

What a pathetic exucse. Currently, that was the best his numbed brain could conjure up to try ease the beast's rage.

Forming an apologetic look, he hoped for a miracle that his father would let him go, just for this one time. To let him out for the craphole he was currently stuck in.

"Real smart now are ya?" His father snickered and glared into the mirrored brown eyes, filled with unspoken fear and perhaps a hint of rage of its own. "Ya think I am that dumb to believe ya needed two freaking hours to get back home?!"

Ok fine, he was sober. Katsuya could almost see steam billowing from his father's ears, along with red hot magmar on his face, just waiting to erupt and blast him into tinier fragments than he was currently in. Our puppy mentally smacked himself for not coming up with a better excuse to save his skin from the monster of a father he had.

"Listen here ya punk," the older of the duo growled dangerously as he slammed his son against the wall, hard. "If I catch ya coming home late again, I will skin your pathetic arse alive!"

With his knuckles tightly clenched to the color of ghostly white, the younger Jounouchi resisted with all his might, the temptation to flare up at the unreasonable slob in front of him, to release all the bottled up frustration and madness he kept hidden all this time. Instead, he meekly averted his gaze from the hot coals directly opposite of his, and nodded silently.

"Recently ya have been coming back late eh?" An ugly sneer appeared on his father's twisted face as he released his grip on his son, but placed his hands on either side of the shorter blonde's head, blocking all routes of escape.

Katsuya felt his throat clog up with fear as his father's voice grew significantly softer, "What have ya been doing then? Humping some disease-ridden chick to keep your fuc-ing hormones in check?" A look of triumph visible on the latter's face as he slowly gained sadistic enjoyment from insulting his own kin, breaking him into even smaller pieces, stomping on the rest of his pride and dignity. "Or are ya so fuc-ing desperate that ya sell yourself on the bloody streets for a few cents?"

That did it.

Katsuya had enough of his father's thrash talk.

That almost caused the teen to throw a full-fledged punch into the jeering face across him, yet he clamped down onto his tongue, trying not to provoke the lunatic further. The limits he had forcefully placed upon himself had almost shattered under the frustration, anger and pressure the teen continually shoved into the depths of his soul.

He had to calm down.

But that idiot had crossed the line.

After all the damn things he had done for that drunkard, after all the sacrifices he had made, all that ungrateful bag of crap could say to the only person he had left who still bothered to support and look after him through all this shit were degrading and humiliating insults to his own son?

"Damn you."

Katsuya snapped.

"Thanks to that ass of a discipline master in school, I get detention at every damn chance possible," he was on a roll. Letting it all out was a lot easier than he had imagined it to be. Unable to control the unstoppable flow of words, he continued, "Next, I was bloody home long before you today. Thanks to fate toying with me, I lost the cursed house key. I frikking went all the way back to school just to search for it and the heavens dumped a bloody bucket of ice water onto my sorry ass." His face was twisted into a angry snarl, his body slightly shaking with each word that slipped out of his mouth. "And did I mention a bloody blind driver almost killed me while I was trying to rush back home on time?!"

He paused for a moment to catch his breath, his chest heaving as he finally let out all the frustration accumulated for the day. Exploding in front of the older blonde's face cause a part of the load laden on him to be lifted, for now. Oh no, he was not done yet. There was something else he had to say.

"Lastly, I am not, a fuc-ing whore!"

He spat each word out, almost like he wanted to rid of the foul aftertaste they left on his tongue as he yelled it out at his father. A sense of satisfaction washed over him as he watched the color of the latter's face change from red to a deep shade of purple. Beads of sweat lined his forehead, mingled with unevaporated rainwater, his face heating up from the outburst and his muscles tensed.

He knew it was time for Death to claim his soul as its ultimate price. He'd rather fall while standing tall. He would not allow Kai to snatch the only thing he had yet to lose. Never would he allow his pride and dignity be robbed from him as well.

Kai Jounouchi's face was an expression of madness, still not believing that punk he had of a son would talk back to him.

No,** yelled **at him.

His body convulsed violently with pure rage and he just overshot the limit of his boiling point. All hell was to break loose. That ungrateful wretch of a son would pay so badly for talking back to his elder, his own father!

"Why you son of a bit-h!"

Kai let loose a fist and allowed it to fly at full speed towards the teen's jaw, sending him reeling backwards into the wall from the sheer force from the impact.

Katsuya felt his body come into a full blown impact against the wall, his breath temporarily left his lungs, as he lay crumpled on the floor, trying to inhale sufficient oxygen into his body. His limbs were limp, he was so helpless, he could, no, he would not retaliate. He had this coming.

His father walked towards his son's limp form, cracking his knuckles. With each crack, with each step, he could almost see the teen shivering in fear, sending a raw sense of sadistic thrills within him. He was going to show that son of his who was in charge around here.

Once more, he let fly a fury of punches onto the unprotected body of the teen, uncontrollable rage propelling him to continue the mindless torture which was to come. He was not going to let him get away that easily. Oh no, he was going to get a lesson he would never forget. 'Say ya prayers ya punk.'

"Who the hell did ya think gave you this life? Who fed ya all this time? Who the hell did ya think gave ya the chance to even go to school?!"

His forcefully sent a kick into Katsuya's exposed gut, a crazed look dominating his eyes as he felt vulnerable flesh came into contact with each rough kick he sent out. Another followed. And another. And yet another. The kicks continued, with increasing intensity, the devil's strength aiding in the punishment. Infliction of pain, the blood, the helplessness of the victim, it was an indescribable feeling he lusted for. The wincing, the desire not to lose to his father, the silent tears... These too fueled his insanity as he proceeded to the next stage of the punishment.

Taking off his worned-out leather belt, ends frayed from numerous previous lashing, Kai wielded it like a whip, as a manical laughter escaped from his throat.

The younger Jounouchi's brown orbs widened as a small plea, an almost inaudible cry, emitted from his torn lips. Before he knew it, leather lashed across his bony form, eating mercilessly into his bruised skin. The claws of the demons raking across the canvas, ripping up the once smooth surface, leaving behind pain and destruction at its wake. Trails of blood appeared, the brilliant red against the almost white skin, weaving intrinsic designs of intertwining hatred.

The copper taste of blood was overpowering. Rivers of tears washed away paths of blood and dirt, and his throat was choked with sobs and soundless cries for mercy. The sound of the belt cracking against his flesh and bone, each blow heavier than before, sapping more of his life force with every strike.

He curled himself into a tight ball, wishing to disappear from this cruel world, to a place far away from all these pains he had to endure whenever he returned to this hellhole called home. His matted locks clung tightly to him, tears indistinguishible from sweat, mingled with blood, forming the trinity elixir of anguish and pains, something which he was forever condemned to suffer under.

Katsuya was never a son to this lunatic. He was nothing but a slave, manipulated by his master to do his every bidding if he wanted to escape the brutal tortures which awaited him. If he was fortunate, managing to escape from the harsh rules of the cane and whip, all he could do was cry himself to sleep, only to find himself still trapped in the realm of nightmares when he awoke. The light of the day was nothing more than a mere illusion to mask the cursed cycle of torture just waiting for his presence.

The lashings continued, vulgarities spewed from the crazed one's mouth. Katsuya lay huddled still, praying to any diety listening to him, for all this to cease. Yet he knew it was futile. He deserved it.

If he had never shouted back at his father, this would never have happened.

If he had never been so careless in the first place, this would never have happened.

If he was not this hot-headed, this would never have happened.

That man had much more stress piled on top of him then what meets the eye. He just washed it all away with heavy drinking at the nearby bar and several packets filled with rods of weeds which he indulged in. The high he experienced would then be his temporary solace from all the problems which plagued him in his life.

Katsuya felt a rib cracked.

Excruciating pain shot through the side of his body, causing him to cough out blood more violently than before. Yet he still lay there in silence, allowing the tyrant to whip him till he was contented. Or until he came to his senses.

Ever since his mother left them, his father had been reduced to an emotional wreck. She was his everything. His light in times of darkness, his pillar of strength when the world seemed to be collapsing on him. Besides leaving him, she took it a step further when she came back to rip his only sister away from the remains of his family. That drove Kai even deeper into the depths of insanity, thus releasing all his pent up frustration on the only person he had left -- Katsuya.

Katsuya did not blame him. His father was struggling to get a job after his retrenchment. To make it all worse, his undesirable addictions and unpredictable temper caused his chances to be further reduced. Still, he took up any odd-jobs available during that time, to try shoulder the ever-increasing expenditure of both his son and himself.

Katsuya had just turned seventeen this year (3). This meant he was no longer a junior in his high school, and a sharp increase in his school fees followed. The burden was further weighted down by the numerous complusory activities the school had forced upon the students. The financial strain was almost too much for Kai to bear.

Our teen was a growing boy. His craving for food had grown unimaginably larger in the recent years. His father was fully aware of his son trying his best to curb his impossible to satisfy appetite. The defined bone structure was beginning to show itself against the boy's form. Still, Katsuya prepared a simple meal for his father every night, allowing the older of the duo to fill his stomach to prepare him for the following day of work. The teen would then consume the leftovers.

Katsuya had never ever dreamed of the uneeded luxuries of life. All he wanted, or rather needed, was a normal and average happy family. The delighted look on his sister's delicate features as she welcomed him home from an especially tiring day of school, a mother to comfort him whenever his spirits were down... And a father to support him no matter what he chose to do. A person whom he was able to confide in when he was stumped by problems of life, a person who would be his emotional support through his teenage years.

"Crack."

Another sickening crunch sounded as he felt his arm being twisted in an unnatural position.

Fighting back the overwhelming urge to let out a cry of agony, Katsuya bit his blood red lower lip harder and curled up into a even tighter ball. He could feel the blows growing weaker ever-so-slightly, a sign that his determination to survive yet another torture session was paying off.

A bitter feeling in his heart, Katsuya laughed at all those pathetic bastards in school who threatened to commit suicide whenever there was a huge wave of homework dumped onto them. How he envied those who could fall into depression due to a mere break-up with a temporary boy or girlfriend. Their plights were nothing more than mere mosquito bites as compared to the crap he had to face every day. He felt like strangling those imbeciles who could sulk and throw tantrums if they did not get the newest model of the latest gadget in the market.

His upper lip unconciously curled into a smirk, as he imagined both his fingers slowly reaching around the necks of those ignorant fools. Slowly squeezing, gradually tightening his grip, watching with sadistic satisfaction as they snapped out of their self-centered materialistic worlds. He would enlighten them all. Those oblivious youngsters who curse and swear that the world is against them, blind to all the fortunes God had bestowed upon their unworthy heads. And here he was, in this dump of a house, struggling to survive each day while trying to heal the scars of the previous lashings...

How Katsuya longed to curse at the deities above for condemning him to such a pitiful and degrading state. What had the Jounouchis done to deserve such a punishment from the heavens? What misdeeds had they commited to be trapped in the hell on Earth?

They **had** everything.

Now, the void of nothingness embraced the both of them.

Pests to the society. Spat on by the disgusted members of the upper-classes of society. They were nothing but worthless beggars in the former's eyes. Rabied dogs waiting for the chance to snap at their masters, infecting them with the disease of poverty.

Finally after what seemed like eternity to the poor teen, Katsuya no longer felt the stinging pain of frayed leather against his raw and peeling skin. Slowly, and almost timidly, bloodshot honey orbs appeared from beneath the blood caked skin and saw Kai holding the belt by his side. A thick layer of crimson lined its sides, slowly dripping down its end, adding more swirls to the already bloodstained floor.

The crazed look which had once dominated the face of his father had faded, leaving nothing but lifeless orbs staring into space, a reflection of the extinguished flame of life within him.

Without a word, the older Jounouchi turned and left with a slam of the door.

Katsuya lay still on the cold hard floor, feeling hell's fire burning up his open wounds. He felt like he was floating in the clouds despite the devil's pitchfork piercing into his flesh. He wanted so badly to just let go, to end it all and escape from the shackles which some unknown god had placed on his helpless soul.

Yet, another thread, so fine, so fragile, held him back.

His thoughts drifted back to the lifeless eyes of his father. He couldn't bear to abandone him alone in this cruel and harsh world. He just couldn't.

With his entire body aching terribly, Katsuya struggled to pull himself up into a sitting position against the wall, paying extra care not to place any pressure on his cracked rib and broken arm. His fair skin was now a shade of ghostly white, drained of life and vigour he was so full of just hours before. His face was twisted in agony as he fought against his screaming muscles to heave himself off the ground. However within the next second, his legs gave way beneath him, causing the teen to crash onto the ground once more.

Instinctively, he stretched out his hands to break the fall, only to realise in horror the injury one of them had sustained during the beating.

A heart-wrenching howl followed, echoing through the empty house as he collided once more into the ground.

All he could feel was an intense and fiery pain shooting through his arm, red hot needles piercing into him, temporarily robbing him of all his other senses and emotions. A single word burned in his mind -- Pain. Excruciating pain.

Katsuya laid on his side, tightly clutching his injured arm, eyes squeezed shut in pain. Whimpers escaped from his parched throat, salty crystals glided across the paths of dried blood and tears. His breathing was ragged, his head was throbbing, a constant beating of the tribal drums, each beat spelling out his doom.

He coughed violently, causing his entire form to shake rigidly, escalating the intensity of the pains. A hand went up gingerly to his broken rib, praying for the burning sensation to cease. He continued to painstakingly haul himself across the room, testing his willpower against the gradual clouding of his mind from fatigue.

A thick fog hung over him, threatening to suffocate him, sending him further into hell. Tired eyes forced themselves to focus on his goal, urging his broken body on. He needed to get into the bathroom to dress and clean his wounds. There was still the problem of going to school the day after, he could not afford to skip another day of school with the upcoming tests.

Almost completely drained of strength, his fingers barely scrapped the tiles of the bathroom as he gave himself a final push. He had made it.

Normal POV (Seto)

"Kaiba-sama, we have arrived," a voice announced and Seto heard the door of his limousine swing open. A big black umbrella with the words 'Kaiba Corporation' splashed on top of it was waiting for him.

Easing out the car without getting a single crease on his suit, Seto stepped out under the umbrella, making sure that the rain did not get a chance to ruin his outfit. In front of him, a large door with intricate designs carved into its wooden body, a mini computer like platform on its right. (4)

"Please place your hand on the lighted pad for identification," an emotionless computerised voice sounded.

Methodically, Seto placed his palm onto the lighted pad. Green letters spelling the words 'scanning' appeared on the screen above, making the CEO unknowingly tap his polished shoe impatiently on the floor as he awaited the authentification.

"Verification completed. Welcome home Kaiba-sama," the same voice replied once more. A metallic click followed, the electronic lock unlatched and the teen entered his unimaginably huge mansion. After his entrance, the door's sensors proceeded to close and locking itself behind him. Nothing beats returning home from a long day at work.

Removing his spotless leather shoes, Seto slipped into a pair of soft slippers, grateful for the cushion and comfort they provided him after a tiring day. He loosened his dark blue tie and placed his outer coat on the coat hanger just beside him.

"Nii-sama!" (5)

A joyful welcome reached his ears. He smiled.

Before Seto could turn around and respond, a pair of arms wrapped themselves around his waist and familar face nuzzled into his suit.

"Hello to you too Mokie."

Seto allowed his tired hand to rest on the dark mane on his brother's head, enjoying as he ran his fingers through the soft and smooth strands. Nothing made him feel more at home and relaxed than this.

"Dinner is ready too, Nii-sama!" Mokuba gazed into the depths of the older Kaiba's eyes, a cute smile peeking from the edges of his mouth. It had never failed to amaze Seto how Mokuba was able to just brighten up his day with his smiles and laughter.

"Sure, I will be down in a while," Seto ruffled his brother's hair fondly.

"Ok!" Mokuba's grin widened into a joyful smile.

Seto felt his heart soar as he watched his brother made his way into the dining area while he proceeded up the Grand Staircase to the top floor of his mansion to freshen up. He could not explain it, but he loved it whenever he managed to make his brother happy. Something as simple as having their meals together, or just having a short conversation, would make the latter elated. Sadly, he was not always able to fullfill those seemingly effortless tasks.

Steadily, Seto scaled the almost endless stairs at a pace which was a little quicker than usual. Thanks to his everyday practice of stairs scaling, it took him little or even no effort at all to reach the top. How he would smirk when he saw visitors and guests turn into a shade of bright red as they huffed and puffed their way up, some panting just after reaching the second floor.

Marble stairs cold to the sense of touch continued on for four floors, his hand lightly skimming the surface of the handgrips which were beautifully covered with swirls of gold. The staircase itself was a work of art. A long red carpet lined the middle of the huge span of stairs, protecting one from the cold and hard surface. The red was striking against the white marble, complimented further by the touches of gold and brown at the sides. The colors of royalty and elegance all in one. The perfect match for the Kaibas.

Before long, Seto stood in front of the door to his sanctuary. A place where he could finally reside without nosey reporters barging into his private life, hoping to score a big one each time they tried to pounce on what they thought was an unexpected teen CEO. Written in cursive fonts were the words, 'Seto Kaiba' on a gold plate, denoting the owner of the largest room in the mansion.

Next to it, a few metres down the hallway was another door with similar resemblence to the teen's own. It belonged to his precious brother. Their rooms were connected via a door within. This was to ensure the safety of his younger sibling in case anything happened to him in the middle of the night. Of course, their doors too were protected only by the most up-to-date and finest security systems money could buy. Special eye detectors and voice verifications were the only means of opening these doors.

Seto entered his room, enjoying the rare moments of solitude. Placing his suitcase onto the desk at the other end of his room, Seto pulled out a neatly folded casual shirts from his closet, at the same time choosing a pair of shorts from his enormous walk-in wardrobe. He placed them on the bed and entered his private restroom to wash away the stress accumulated for the day.

Seto pulled off his stiff working shirt and threw it aside. How he hated being in that suffocating attire for endless hours, enduring the heat and discomfort during work. He needed space to breathe sometimes, yet he had to uphold his public image of being a reputable teen CEO.

He eased out of his pants and stepped into the shower, enjoying the sensation of lukewarm water running down his tensed muscles. The water gently pelted down on his face, taking away all the worries he had for the moment. A moment which his mind could just forget about everything and enjoy the nothingness.

A hand reached out to grab the bottle of shampoo and body wash. Soon, the bathroom was filled with a subtle scent of cinammon.

Seto massaged the washing formula into his scalp, the tension in his mind slowly ebbing away. His brown locks blended in with the foamy white bubbles, a delicious chocolate swirl that would make any fangirl go weak in her knees.

Steam misted the mirrors and glasses, a mysterious feel evolving in the atmosphere. The CEO who kept everything hidden from the public's eye. The CEO who barely said anything more than a word to the reporters who dash after him, hoping to be the lucky ones to get some juicy information from the teen. The person with a split personality. A robot in front of all, a human, capable of emotions, with those he cherished.

A sigh of contentment escaped as he rinsed off the last of the foam and twisted the gleaming silver tap. Grabbing his large soft towel from a neatly stacked pile, he wrapped it around his bare form and went back into his room. Not in a particular hurry, Seto was finally able to take his time for once.

Making sure that his body was dry, he slipped into his casual clothes and proceeded to dry his hair as much as he could. After racking a comb through the tangled locks numerous times, Seto dumped the wet towel into a basket and headed down to dinner, closing the heavy door behind him.

The scent of cinammon still lingered in the air.

_xl-To be continued...-lx_

(1): Otosan, which means father.

(2): Instead of using 'you', I am going to use 'ya' to emphasise the level of society the Jounouchis are residing in. I didn't want to overdo it by going all out and take away the 'g' from 'ing's but you catch my drift yea? I did not use it for Katsuya's speech since I wanted you all to see him as someone who is trying his best to break out of such a life and perhaps move his family on to another level of society despite his 'cruder' speech in the Japanese version of the anime.

(3): This is **NOT **the official age of Katsuya!!! I made him older since that would make the internal conflict in him even more prevailent! He is on his way to adulthood and yet he is still suffering from all the family problems, and to make things worse he is crushing on the world's coldest hunk! I doubt life gets much harder than that...

(4): I know his real mansion does not have anything like this but oh well, we are talking about a new and improved security system after countless attempts from his enemies to hijack his company!

(5): Instead of using "Oni-chan" or "Nii-chan" which are the more casual terms for 'brother', I used "Nii-sama" to show the level of respect Mokuba had for Seto, despite them being rather close and all. Apparently, Mokuba uses Nii-sama in the original Japanese version of the anime too!

Mystickal: Yay! The four chapter is completed! Sorry for not meeting the initial dateline as usual, the previous two weeks were filled with tests... Hopefully no one will kill me for hurting Katsuya-kun! . My heart was aching when I wrote it, but it had to be done for the sake of the plot! -evil- It might be a little draggy from here on for the next two chapters or more, but I don't want Katsuya and Seto to just get into a relationship with the click of our fingers. It just seems so unrealistic. So yay for development of feelings between our two bishies! Anyway watch out for the next chapter! Please R&R!


	5. Haunting Melody

Mystickal: Since this is already the fifth chapter, I've decided to cut down on all the warnings and stuff like that. You guys should have been able to read/see them in the previous chapters anyway! So I will shorten them into a sentence although the disclaimer will remain! I know the pace a little draggy with hardly any action and whatsoever but I don't have a habit of just jumping into the plot without adding some uneeded random stuff before it hehe. So this chapter still lacks fluff and all, but still a deeper look into our characters. I tried to put certain metaphors and symbols etc in here so yeap. Hope I didn't overdo it... Please R&R!

ATTENTION: **SHOUEN-AI**some **rude/bad/crude language; **grammatical errors; Japanese phrases; crazy plot from the crazy authoress... You catch my drift.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh or it's characters in any way (Although kidnapping the producer and holding him ransom for the ownership of the anime sounds so tempting...) and any similarities to other fanfics here are STRICTLY COINCIDENTIAL. I created this from random chains of thoughts in school by writing in a notebook.**

Ah, aren't dreams something we all look forward to as an escape sometimes?

Silent Whispers

Chapter 5

Normal POV (Katsuya)

Katsuya heaved himself into the bathtub of the bathroom. Its edges chipped, the once pearl white shine had long faded, with yellowing stains stubbornly clinging onto its coat. It took him an entire fifteen minutes to get there, and with a final push, flipped himself to his back and sat in the bathtub panting.

Slowly, he shed off the bloodstained and dirt encrusted clothes, tossing them in a pile in a corner. He would have to wash them another day. This took him quite a while, but Katsuya managed to accomplish the task without overly aggravating his wounds.

Placing his hand shakily under the tap, he allowed the water to rush over his skin, making sure it was not too hot. As the clear water flowed over his body, immersing his wounds, Katsuya winced as a new stinging pain surfaced. He was exhausted, but he still had a task ahead of him. Gingerly, he tried to cleanse the wounds and wash up, avoiding contact with the torn flesh whenever he could.

Leaning his head against the edge of the tub, the teen closed his eyes and allowed the water to envelop him. He could not understand why his mother had left him after all these years. They had a blissful life with one another, his parents, Shizuka and himself. All he wished for was a family filled with warmth and love. What more had he asked for?

Back then, smiles and laughter were exchanged, the atmosphere was filled with happiness and love. Seeing the sunny smile on his sister's face as she welcomed him home, her tiny hands then trying to encircle his wasit as she pulled him in for a hug. A whiff of spring would tickle his nose as she leaned closer to him. Spring. The fresh dew in the morning, the budding of various exotic flora at noon, and finally the beautiful sunsets both he and his sister used to enjoy together. Ever since that day, he had never experienced the same feelings again.

Why did his mother shred their family into pieces?

Leaving Kai and Katsuya came has a huge blow to them both, but snatching Shizuka away from them was what drove his father into depression. As the days dragged by, his father soon picked up various undesirable habits. Smoking, drinking, fighting... These were gateways for the older Jounouchi to expel the frustration within. Still, he tried to keep the remnants of his family together. However, whenever he fell under the spell of alcohol, every last drop of sanity drained from him, leaving a raving madman behind, who took Katsuya for his personal punchingbag.

Our blonde puppy grimaced as the body wash entered the wounds. Thousands of hot needles piercing into his delicate flesh, stinging him harshly, jerking him temporarily out of his thoughts. His injured arm felt almost as if a piece of red hot metal had been pressed onto it. Most of his body too was tender and sore.

No matter how many times he was injured, Katsuya had never managed to develope an immunity towards the pain. The beatings were nothing more than stage one of the torture he was subjected to. Then came washing and dressing of his wounds. Finally, he had to return to school the day after, pretending like nothing ever happened while enduring the physical and emotion gashes still bleeding in him.

Katsuya went all out to keep these sessions and family problems a secret from his friends. It was not because he did not trust them, but more of not wanting to burden them with his petty little troubles when they all too had their own difficulties to cope with. Spilling the beans would only invoke more worries and cause his friends to be even more protective over their 'poor, little buddy'.

Oh how he envied those who were blessed with such fortunate lives!

Katsuya knew it was a selfish thought, and a pang of guilt shot through his heart. He knew his father had been putting in more effort than he was given credit for. Kai had been slaving away for endless hours each day, trying to make ends meet for both of them. A roof above their heads, food to fill their growling stomachs, and of course, the all-so-dreaded school fees of Katsuya's.

Deep into the night, Katsuya can hear his father coming home. No, not the footsteps of a drunkard, but that of a perfectly sobre and sane man, overwhelmed with fatigue. His thoughts drifted off to his birthday. Katsuya knew he would not have too many a chance to spend with the elder, but hidden in his room, pretending to be asleep in the darkness, he waited just to listen for his father's return. A sign that he was safe and sound, a sign of comfort, however little it might be.

When he awoke the day after, he was disappointed not to be able to catch a glimpse of his father before he went to work. But on the table laid a hastily wrapped box, with almost illegible handwriting scrawled over it. The blonde could just make out the words 'Happy Birthday Katsuya' under the dim lighting. His heartbeat immediately quickened as he carefully unwrapped the gift. Inside it was a brand new watch, with green digital numbers illuminating from its face. Tears appeared in the amber orbs and Katsuya choked back a sob.

His father had never been able to afford new clothes and shoes for them, let alone a digital watch for his son. 'How long had you been saving for this Otosan...' Silently, almost invisible in the semi-darkness, crystal drops rolled down his cheeks as he replaced the watch back with trembling hands. Slowly placing the lid back, Katsuya took the treasured possession back into his room. It was not just a present, not just a tangible watch which his father had given to him. Along with it, a piece of the elder's heart and love.

Wiping the tears from his eyes, Katsuya made sure it was kept in the safest place in his room, determined only to use it when his current one had ceased to woork, not wishing to expose the treasure to any forms of mishaps. Thanking his father once more in his heart, Katsuya took out a few extra bucks from his savings and decided to head over to the grocery store after school, knowing that his father was probably going to have another late night that day. His father was going to get a scrumptous dinner tonight, an exhibition of the heartfelt gratitude from his son.

No matter how hard the older Jounouchi lashed at his son, Katsuya would always see the hint of regret and frustration which plagued his father after the latter had regained his senses. Kai would then leave without a word, sometimes even for days without returning home, leaving the teen to fend for himself through that length of time.

Perhaps that was his father's way of saying sorry, perhaps it was a way to prevent him from hurting his own flesh and blood, or perhaps it allowed him the much needed time to think. Katsuya never knew.

He was perfectly contented with his father coming home and eating dinner together, even if it was mostly in silence. The presence of the older one proved to be a source of comfort to the teen. How Katsuya wished he could just wake up from his current life, only to find himself back to the perfect life he had possessed before, with his parents as loving as ever, and his sister always beside him.

'Was that too much to ask for?' Katsuya thought bitterly as he continued to pry the hardened dried dirt and blood off his skin. With each piece torn off, he felt a part of him fell away as well. He tried so hard to keep the miserable family he had left together, almost to the point of breaking his limit. He wanted to shout out to the gods above, cursing them for drowning him and his father in the pits of hell.

Yet all he could do now was to sob silently, trying to stop the salty drops from cascading down on his wounds. He felt so tired, completely drained, both physically and mentally. A dense cloud cloaked his senses, as the teen struggled to keep his eyelids open. Fighting a losing battle, Katsuya succumbed to sleep, remembering nothing more than a pair of dark navy eyes calling out to him as he drifted into another realm, exhausted.

Normal POV (Seto)

Seto dabbed his mouth with a fine linen cloth gently, a satisfied look on his face as his stomach growled in contentment. He looked to his brother sitting beside him on the twenty-people long table. Of course, our CEO was used to sitting at the head of the table, giving him a clear view of not only the guests at the table, but of the dining room as well.

Since it was just the two of them having dinner together, the Kaiba brothers were clothed in casual attires, and conversing away during dinner. Mokuba immediately snatched up the rare opportunity of dining with his older brother, settling himself in the right hand seat of Seto's normal dining position.

Looking at the mega-watts smile his brother had on his face along with dribbles of special homemade sauce passed down for generations, Seto felt surprisingly at ease, not needing to worry about the problems thrown at him everyday during work. Contracts, troubleshooting of new systems, reports... All these flooded into his office every morning, leaving the CEO without a chance to even settle down before rushing around the company or to attend scheduled meetings.

Mokuba was happily munching on the tender piece of grilled chicken chop, along with his favourite 'Funky Fruitopia' juice (a tasty mixture of tropical fruits with a grand dallop of ice-cream on top). Happiness radiated from the pre-teen, especially when he looked up at his brother.

Seto never realised how much taller his brother had grown. Neither had he realised how much longer and darker was the mane which trailed down his brother's back. He did not even realise how much more mature his brother looked, especially the increase in muscles gained from regular workouts in the gym he had forced his brother to take up.

A pang of regret floated into his heart as he noticed how much precious time he had lost with his brother, the only family he had left, just to keep his company in the lead in the market. He inwardly silenced himself. He had been through this a million times over. He was willing to give up this bonding time with his brother just to secure a bright future for the younger Kaiba. He had no regrets. He still cared and loved his brother, just that he was unable to display the affection the way most people are able to. Spending time with their loved ones, catching up on each other's lives, doing things together...

Seto knew he had made the right choice. Their brotherly love had not waned despite the constantly decreasing amount of time the both of them spent together. There was an invisible bond which held them close, even though their physcial forms might be miles apart, a constant support for the other, a comfort in times of doubt. A bond that would never be broken by physical factors.

"Mokie..." Seto started, an uncomfortable feeling emerging in him. He had hardly ever been the one to initiate a conversation. In fact, he was not a person to engage in conversations unless they were business-related.

Big innocent eyes looked expectantly at him. "Hai, Nii-sama?" (1) Curiosity shined in the younger's eyes as well. This was interesting. Seto had never been the one to start any conversations, unless it was of a crucial topic for discussion, usually about the saftey of Mokuba.

"How... Was, your day at school..." For someone deemed as confident and dominating as Seto Kaiba, it sure took quite a fair bit of his willpower to conjure that short sentence. One would never believe the accomplished and perfect Seto Kaiba would struggle with a simple question posed to his brother.

As soon as the sentence was spoke, Seto regretted it. It sounded pathetic in his ears. His hidden anxiety added on when he saw Mokuba raised an eyebrow at the question. He meant for it to be a start... But now he thought otherwise. Why did he even bother? Thanks to his adoptive father, he had close to zero contact with the outside world, rendering his social skills close to nil.

'Will he reply?' His head was crowded with endless questions, wondering if his brother would just laugh at his attempt or just ignore him completely.

To his surprise, Mokuba replied in between chews, and rather gaily too, "The Math teacher was just mean to me! She made me do extra practices even when I had already completed those she had given me!" He swallowed and continued, eyes brimming with crocodile tears. "The Science teacher wasn't much better! She forced me to complete the practical alone since my partner was ill!" Following that was a cute-and-irresistable-to-Seto pout.

"Don't worry about it alright Mokie?" He reached out to pat his brother's head. "Nii-sama will get you the game you wanted to cheer you up alright?" Although Seto knew this was probably one of Mokuba's plans of manipluation to add on to his never-ending collection of video games, Seto just could not bear to see his dear brother tear.

"No!" Seto was taken aback. What on earth did Mokuba want then?

"I want you to play with me for the entire weekend too!"

Seto laughed. He should have guessed that his brother was not going to let him off the hook so easily for cancelling almost ninety percent of their play time due to Kaiba Corporation related emergencies.

"Mokie, you know I've got to-"

Mokuba saw this coming and immediately launched an attack of the irresistable-to-Seto-puppy-dog-eyes. Seto was once more torn between the decision of his precious brother, or his company. 'Oh great,' Seto could see the ever-so-slight quiver of the raven-haired's lips, as more crocodile tears threatened to spill from his eyes.

Seto sigh. Even as the cold and emotionless Seto Kaiba, he was unable to resist his brother's 'charms' and 'cute ways'. Only Mokuba knew which buttons to push in order for Seto to tranform from the King of Ice to a huggable teddy in seconds. He relented.

"Ok Mokie... But just this once ok?"

With that, his brother let out a silent cheer of triumph and hugged the teen tightly, tears completely vanished from his eyes. "You are the best Nii-sama!" He looked into the navy orbs of his brother, instead of cold seas of the Artic, all Mokuba could see was the warm seas of the Tropics, protecting him, giving him warmth and love.

Seto returned a smile of his own and wrapped his arms around his brother, whispering almost inaudibly, "I love you too, Mokie."

Normal POV (Katsuya)

_He was walking._

_In the dark._

_Alone._

Katsuya looked around him. All he could make out were never-ending darkness, silence and cold. He wrapped his arms around himself, shocked to find not a single scar or blemish to compromise the beauty of his skin. His torso was bare, a pair of pants hung loosely from his hips. Katsuya hated feeling so unprotected usually, but that did not seem to matter to him now. After all, he had nothing to hide now. Those scars, those bruises, those cuts which had once imprinted themselves into his body had evaporated along with his depression. He was a whole again. Almost.

A broken piece of his heart still resided in its chamber, trying to nurse the unhealable wounds. He struggled to pick up the shattered fragments which laid on the ground, futilely attempting to piece them back together. Everytime he matched two pieces with each other, they would just break even further into tinier bits, the sign of fate taunting him.

With an angry yell of frustration, Katsuya threw the pieces away from him, hearing them clank and break as they contacted the invisible floor. He was broken. Beyond repair. And he knew it. No matter how much he had tried to deceive himself, he would never be truly happy and carefree as he wanted to be. His friends saw the echos of a broken soul in his amber orbs, his smiles hardly ever held any true warmth, and his life, the past and the present will forever haunt him.

The blonde sunk to the ground and laid his head in his palms, long slender fingers intertwining with the golden locks. In the abyss of his inner soul, even his locks were dull and lifeless. All the light in his life had long departed, leaving nothing but empty darkness, waiting to engulf him. Unconsciously, he let slip a soft note from his throat, filling it with all the emotions churning within him.

A haunting melody filled the vast space, each note dissipating a painful memory. His voice, so soft, seemingly weightless, carried upon itself the burden of sadness, conveying it with such power, striking the very hearts of those who heard it. He sang about his solitude, frustration, misery, wrath... A neverending tune of his life, weaved so mystically into a melody.

The melody reached its climax, yet the teen easily let the words out with such inhuman precision and accuracy, fueled by the emotions within. Slowly, he reduced the volume and force of the words, until it was that of barely a whisper. He started to sing the tale of his dreams, the impossible utopia, where true happiness would be his blanket during the night, and joy, the Sun's rays. A slight variation of the tune presented itself in this stanza, a sort of heartfelt sorrow and eternal longing seeped between the enchanted notes.

Gradually, his voice faded into the silence, as everything reverted back to its cold nothingness.

Katsuya stared blankly in front of him. It felt great to let everything out of him for once. Yet the emptiness in him still lingered, the bitter aftertaste which could never be washed away. It would never disappear he realised. Just when he was about to close those tired orbs of his, a glimmer, a sparkle caught his eye.

Uncertainly, he looked up and his eyes followed the glitter amidst the darkness. It was no bigger than a speck of dust, yet its glow was intensely bright. Without thinking, he got up and followed it, his eyes capturing every movement it made, the almost dance-like pattern it made while gently floating in the void.

Katsuya found his pace quickening as the speck floated further and further from him. His legs broke into a slow jog and increased into a run as he chased after the mysterious shine. He did not wish to lose it. It gave him an uncanny sense of ease when he gazed upon its brilliance. He needed it.

Slowly, the glint of light gained height, rising above the teen, moving out of his grasp. The blonde stood below it, head tilted back, gazing at the shimmer which had moved almost a foot above his reach. Confusion was written all over his face. He was overcome by hesistation, not knowing what he should do next.

Should he follow the mysterious glow? Or stay here forever wondering what would have happened if he did? Would it lead him away from the mental prison he had created?

Katsuya looked up once more at the speck of light, hovering and wavering at a spot, almost like it was beckoning for him to follow. Taking a deep breath, he leaped.

In a graceful motion, he felt his body skimmed through the layers of air, as he slowly glided towards the light. He felt amazingly light, as though he weighed no more than a feather. He carefully stretched out his left hand, extending it all the way, in an attempt to reach for his target. His fingers were out-stretched, longing to carass the soft glow radiating from the speck.

Instead of falling, Katsuya continued sailing upwards, following the glitter above him. He glided closer without the need of any movement, and the light emitted grew more intense. He continued gliding, until he felt his hand fully enclose the object within his palm. The light was almost blinding.

A soft and warm feeling immediately flowed into his body as he pulled the light close. It washed over him, flowing over the shattered fragments of his heart and soul, aiding him in the impossible task of completing the jigsaw. Katsuya felt the cold evaporate from around him as the warmth took over, a protective shell around him.

He opened his hand slowly and looked at his treasure. It was nothing more than a spark of light, nothing tangible for him to hold or feel. But he had managed to take it for his own. He shielded his eyes from the continually increasing brightness of the light with his other hand, as he caught the darkness dissolve from around him as the light touched it.

Katsuya brought the glow next to his heart, enjoying the sensation of the invisible liquid seeping into his body, healing his wounds. Just then, he heard a voice, gentle and low calling out to him.

"Katsuya..."

That voice... The blonde knew it by heart. The voice he had longed to hear calling his name. He had dreamed for this voice to comfort him, to whisper the words his heart ached to hear, but it was nothing more than a mere wish. A wish which the heavens would never bestow upon someone like him.

"Katsuya..."

Katsuya willed his eyes to close as he relaxed his body, hoping that voice will stay with him, by his side always. The voice continued calling out to him, and the teen felt himself falling into a deep slumber.

"Seto..."

He whispered as he felt his conscious gave up on him and he allowed sleep to overtake him. In his subconscious mind, the voice continued, watching over him as he slept.

Normal POV (Seto)

"Yay! I win again!"

Mokuba looked happily at his brother. Once more, he had defeated the oh-so-great-and-perfect Seto Kaiba in his forte racing game.

"Good game Mokie," a small grin appeared at the edges of his mouth, his hands still clasping the gaming controller for the new PS3 home gaming system. They had just bought it a week ago, and the younger Kaiba had almost aced all the games released on the console. This was the limited edition version, with only a hundred released worldwide. Of course the Kaibas had the priviledge of getting one with their status in the gaming world.

Like older brother, like younger brother. Seto smiled as Mokuba jumped around the gaming room, doing a mini victory dance. Just like how Seto was the CEO of the leading gaming corporation, Mokuba was practically the best player of every video game released. As for all the newest gadgets in the market, one would be able to find every single one in the Kaiba's household.

Mokuba's room was crammed full of gaming platforms and catridges, a gaming addict's heaven for any matter. It was no surprise that Mokuba had managed to clinch the title of Warcraft III champion in the recent World Cyber Games 2005 in Singapore (2). Seto could still remember how elated his little brother was when he burst into the mansion shouting at the top of his voice that he was the champion for that category.

Of course, the press immediately caught up on the news, and came rushing up to the Kaibas' mansion, attempting to knock down their door, or hoping to ambush the brothers for an exclusive interview when they went out of the house. Seto had to get even more bodyguards and security guards to patrol the unimaginably large estate, throwing out all intruders hiding in the gardens.

"Another round Seto!"

A hand tugged at his sleeve, yanking him out of his thoughts. The raven-haired boy tried to launch another puppy-dog eyes attack at his brother, only to have Seto turn his head away.

"Please!!!" Mokuba pouted.

"No Mokie, it's late."

The older Kaiba tried to talk his brother out of it, not planning to resort to literally dragging Mokuba to bed. It was already an hour past his brother's bedtime too.

"Pretty please?" Mokuba pleaded and tugged once more at his brother's shirt. "With Blue Eyes White Dragons on top?"

Seto sighed. "Not tonight Mokie. I will play with you another time alright?"

The brunette tried to smile despite the look of disappointment evident in his brother's eyes. Damn, he needed to find a way to be immune to his brother's manipulations.

"I promise."

Seto tried to put all his heart into that promise, even though he knew the chances of an emergency cropping up at the last minute was more than fifty percent.

"Really?"

An uncertain reply came, accompanied with tiny droplets of tears threatening to rain down on his face any second. Seto could feel his heart break as he tried his best to believe in his promise to his little brother.

"Yes, I promise."

The bright lights of the upper stories of the Kaiba mansion dimmed, a sign that it had come to the end of the hectic day of the Kaibas. Well, it was for Mokuba at least. Seto usually lived on fast food or instant noodles to satisfy his growling stomach as he rushed about his company for hours on end.

Today was a rare day which he could return home before dinner without anyone spoiling the bonding time he had with his brother. It was even more of a miracle that he could play with his brother as well. His weekends were packed to the brim with endless meetings, conferences and invitations to various dinners hosted by potential business partners and suitors. How he loathed the latter type of dinner parties.

But he was willing to pay the dear price just to let Mokuba lead a (very) comfortable and peaceful life, no longer like the days in the orphanage. No more humiliation, no more pitiful looks thrown their way, no more being controlled by someone else. He was the one who held all the power now. They had risen from the ones in fear, to the ones feared by others. It still amused him to no end when others, three or even four times his age had to bow down to him in respect.

With that thought still in his mind, he slipped into the silken covers of his bed and let his mind free itself from the shackles of reality and escape into the land of impossible dreams.

---

The tall brunette looked carefully at his surroundings, and back at himself. Everything seemed normal. Seemed. He was standing in the streets of the rundown parts of Domino, with the usual grey buildings and dirt lining the streets. Yet our CEO could sense that something was amiss. He could just feel it in his bones. He got up from the dirt-ridden ground and dusted himself hastily with a look of disgust on his face.

What on Earth would he, Seto Kaiba, be doing in such a dump?

As his feet brought him further into the heart of the area, he finally realised what had been nagging him constantly since he had 'arrived'. There was not a dreaded soul in sight. He was the only person here.

Seto went into a provision shop on his left, pushing the heavy metal door open with a clink which rang unnaturally louder than usual in the silence which dominated the place. The lights were switched on, the stocks were all neatly stacked in place, and even the security alarm was working. All that was missing was the presence of other people.

'That's odd...' He glanced around once more to make sure there was indeed no one else around before exiting the store, with hundreds of new questinos spawning in his head.

Since our CEO had hardly ever been to this part of Domino, all he could so was to wander around aimlessly, hoping to see a distinctive landmark which would aid in his navigation. There was no one to approach for directions, although the teen would never admit he was lost, even for a second. He was sure he would find his way out sooner or later.

Seto reached into his pockets for his trusty cellphone. Long fingers easily skimmed the bottom of the cloth pits, and a frown crossed his handsome face. Trying to ignore the growing panic inside of him, he fumbled through the other pockets of his clothes, only to find every single one of them empty, just like the streets.

'Great, just great,' Seto could feel himself succumbing to the anxiety, as he re-searched his pockets once more. This was not possible. He always had his cellphone with him.

After confirmation that he did not have his cellphone with him, Seto stood at the spot unmoving as he tried to calm himself down.

'Get a grip on yourself. You are Seto Kaiba damn it! Calm down!' Trying to free his mind from all other unnecassary thoughts, the teen willed himself to calm down. Carefully, he analysed his situation. He was stuck in the foreign part of Domino, with no cellphone to use for help. To make matters worse, there wasn't a soul around. What he needed now was to find a way to communicate or get in contact with someone, prefably his chauffeur to pick him up. He needed to find a public phone.

Navy orbs scanned his surroundings for a public phone, or at least one in the numerous shops along the streets. He saw a phone booth just further down the lane, covered in various crude messages and graffiti in various colours. It then hit Seto that he did not have his wallet, or any money on him. What the hell was going on? It was the first time in his life in which he did not have a single cent on himself.

Seto could just imagine a wave of reporters rushing from behind a wall, hoping to get a picture of the successful teen CEO in casual clothes and without carrying anything on him. 'The Great Seto Kaiba In Rural Domino', that would be the news headlines splashed across Domino Daily the day after, he thought bitterly. Although he did wish, one percent of him, that reporters would just rush up to him now, with their annoying questions and quick-snap cameras,

Instead, Seto headed to an eatery, hoping that there would at least be a person there. He peered into the slightly frosted glass windows of the dingy place, hoping to see a shadow of some sort which indicated someone was in there. Even with him straining his eyes to look into the place, Seto was still unable to spot any form of movement within.

Without much of a choice left, he entered the empty place. Jazzy music floated into his ears and a pathetic excuse of a disco lighting dazzled at the further end. It looked more like a pub than an eatery now, with tables one one side and a dance floor on the other. A bartop counter stood in the middle, devoid of waiters and waitresses behind it. Cutlery and plates were placed in their normal positions on the tables, as though they were waiting for invisible guests to arrive.

Seto found the phone just on top of the bartop counter and proceeded towards it. He was not going to waste any more of his precious time here. Afterall, he had a business to run for heaven's sake.

_xl-To be continued...-lx_

(1): "Yes, Big-Brother?" The 'big-brother' in a formal and more poliet sense as explained in the previous chapter.

(2): Why 2005? It was held in my country! Hehe. But yes, it was uber cool! And I think Mokuba would have entered the 2006. 2007 and even 2008 ones but Seto forced him to focus on his school work.

Mystickal: Ahh, finally we can see a little longing for Seto from Katsuya! It is slow I know but bear with me people! Hope you all are able to see why I wrote Katsuya's dream the way it is. If not, just enjoy it then:) The main plot is going to kick off soon, give it another few chapters more! Then onto some fluff...

Sorry for the horrible ending! I realised that I planned for the dreams to be seperated, but Seto's one was just too long so I had to add a little in here. Don't ask me why Seto's dream is like that. It just came to my head! So watch out for lots of Seto in the next and following chapters!

I am considering lemon for the later chapters but I doubt it will be too appropriate for the younger readers out there! (I can foresee a long-winded and lengthy fic for this story...) Still, keep R&Ring!

My love goes out to all those who had faved and supported me! Arigatou gozaimasu!


	6. Memories of the Past

Mystickal: The next chapter is finally here! I am so sorry for the late update, my exams barely ended, and I screwed them up. As for the extra week of delay, I was busy with RL stuff once more. -stares at imaginary audience- Anyway, as mentioned in the previous chapter, I will be describing a certain teen CEO's dream here. It is lengthier than Katsuya's I apologise, but I was focusing quite a bit on Kai, so why not Gozaburo as well? Kaiba is probably too tied up with work most of the time to even bother thinking about him so let's bring it into his dreams yea?

_Ahhh anyone interested in being my beta? -shameless-_

ATTENTION: **SHOUEN-AI**some **rude/bad/crude language; **grammatical errors; Japanese phrases; crazy plot from the crazy authoress... You catch my drift.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh or it's characters in any way (Although kidnapping the producer and holding him ransom for the ownership of the anime sounds so tempting...) and any similarities to other fanfics here are STRICTLY COINCIDENTIAL. I created this from random chains of thoughts in school by writing in a notebook.**

_Even CEOs get insecure once in a while._

Silent Whispers

Chapter 6

Normal POV (Seto)

From the corner of the cold eyes of our teen CEO, Seto spied a black old telephone at the counter. In a flash, he was there, receiver to his ear, and instinctively, his fingers pulled at the round dial. His heart almost leaped for joy as his ear registered a faint, but still audible dial tone. He was finally able to escape from this nightmare.

Glancing at his wristwatch, he drummed his fingers impatiently on the scratched wooden surface of the counter as he awaited for the call to be connected.

If his chauffeur leaves the mansion immediately, he ought to be back in his home within thirty minutes. That would mean he have an extra hour before he went to work for his daily inspection.

A frown creased on his forehead as the call was disconnected. Seto replaced the receiver before snatching it up, and tried calling his chauffeur again. Once more, he waited, and waited, and waited for the familiar ringing at the other end of the line to start.

None came.

It seemed like Seto was out of luck this time. Frustrated, he slammed the receiver down hard and roughly yanked a chair towards him before slumping into it, defeated. He had never felt so helpless before.

'What the hell was going on?!', the CEO fumed, slamming a fist down on a cheap plastic table beside him.

Why was the entire town empty? There was not a single soul in sight; hell, there was not even a frikking insect around! And worse, where the hell was Mokuba?! Was he trapped alone too?

Just when there seemed to be a beam of light from the saviour, it was extinguished, just like that. The phones were completely dead, useless. How rudely shocked our CEO was when he found out that he did not have a single possession on him. This was going to be a tough one, even for our brilliant teen to try worm his way out this time. How on Earth was he going to get out of this nightmare?

The brunette rubbed his right temple, and evened his breathing in an attempt to calm his frazzled nerves. He would not let such a situation get the better of him. He had been through much worse with the Big 5, in Ancient Egypt, and even when trying to keep his stocks at the top; those were much more taxing issues than this. As a businessman, Seto was not going to give up this easily.

With his thoughts a lot more coherent now, the teen analysed his situation once more. He was trapped in some obscure and isolated part of Domino, with not a single cent on himself. There was no one around for him to ask, no, to interrogate about his whereabouts. There were no means of communication with the 'outside world'. Finally, he was hopelessly lost. All of the above would not have been a problem if he was familiar with the area.

Solution? There were only two choices available: To sit here and wait like an idiot, or to get off his sorry ass and find a way out of here, even if it meant walking all the way to his house.

Standing up, Seto grabbed a bottle of beer from the cooler nearby, and got ready to exit the joint. He was going to find a way out of this, even if it kills him. His priority is to go back to his mansion, and check if Mokuba was safe. Hopefully, his only family member left was not trapped in this madness too.

"Ftzzzz..." A sound of cackling static reached his ears. The brunette snapped around immediately, body tensed, ready to retaliate against any assailant behind him. At least he would be able to forcefully extract some explanations from his unlucky victim.

Unfortunately, the only person in the place was our favourite CEO. Everything was the same as before, except a previously switched off television at the back of the room. The black box which looked like it was from eras ago, had burst to life.

Not letting his guard down, Seto scanned his surroundings once more. The black and white lines of static fizzled and danced within the screen, the roar of it drowning the comparatively softer jazzy background music.

When he was almost completely sure that there was no one else with him, Seto cautiously proceeded towards the source of irritance, body a lot more relaxed than before. The brunette was resisting the overwhelming urge to just smash the television. Not only was he in a horribly bad mood, the noise was getting onto his nerves big time.

Like that was not enough to piss the CEO off, the cackling gradually increased in amplitude. Before long, the blast of static practically deafened Seto, who had his hands cupped tightly over his ears. It was a futile attempt; his eardrums kept pleading for the sound to cease; but it was better than nothing.

He could feel the vibrations shooting through his body, a tad faster than his heartbeat. It was starting to get harder to breathe, and his lungs ached as they forcefully inhaled volumes of fresh air to satisfy their needs. Seto knew if this keeps up, he would either be deafened, or suffer from a heart attack. He did not like either of the options.

Struggling to get the incessant hissing out of his head, the teen frantically searched for the entrance. His mind would not focus on his surroundings, but instead his eyes were willed shut and his knees were threatening to give way. The sound kept increasing, waves aggravating his headaches further. He was not sure how much longer he will be able to withstand the noise.

"Kuso," Seto cursed under his breath behind gritted teeth. Blue orbs spotted the familiar wooden door, his gateway out of hell. Without a moment's hesitation, he made a mad dash for the door. His vision was blurring due to formation of tears, but he kept them focused on his target. He could not take it anymore; he was going to get out of this madhouse, even if it kills him.

Just when he was about a few metres from the door, Seto felt himself falling and contacting the ground, hard. Not taking his hands off his ears, he turned, only to see a loose cable on the ground. By then, the static had reach a volume enough to drive anyone insane with pain, the CEO fought back his tears and looked at the table beside him. An idea struck him as he quickly snatch two carefully folded paper napkins, and hastily stuff them into his ears.

The thunderous sound of static was still audible, although at a lower amplitude then before. His ears were red and aching, body drained of strength, eyes watery with unshed tears. He stayed on the ground behind a table, withering in pain, hopes of escaping slowly evaporating. He had placed his coat over his head, giving his ears one more layer of protection, praying silently to some divine being above to stop this insanity.

Glasses and windows were shaking, threatening to shatter into pieces any moment. It felt like an army of furious killer bees were trapped in the place, millions of them buzzing in his ears, unable to escape, rebounding towards him as they hit an obstacle. Perhaps it was retribution. He had scorned all forms of higher beings, it would be useless to even plea for mercy now. The army sent by the gods, now cornering the mere mortal who had shown the highest form of disrespect to the kings, will now suffer a slow death. Only then will he be repented for his sins.

As much as Seto hated relying on others for help, he had no choice now. Even if the heavens were to pour pots of boiling oil onto him in order for the overwhelming sound of static to stop, he would gladly accept his punishment. He needed to find Mokuba, and in order to do that, he needed to get out of here. This was one of the few cases in which he felt so helpless. The sound of static had increased too much for him to even enter a five metres radius around the television, and the windows were sealed shut, door was out of his range. He could only hide and pray for a miracle to happen. He would not allow himself to perish here, not yet. He still had time in this realm, and he was not going to give up without a fight.

The level of noise had more or less stabalised, but at a volume too many notches above comfort. Seto scanned his surroundings, able to more or less ignore the throbbing in his head. There was no way he could break the window, it was plastic. He could not turn the television off. He could try to run out, but he would be completely exposed to the noise. There was nothing heavy for him to throw against the television to break it, so it looks like our CEO only has one choice. He would make a break for it.

Making sure his ears were properly stuffed, Seto leaped from beneath the table and practically flew to the door. His hand grabbed the handle of the door, and pulled, hard. The door did not even budge. He was starting to feel the effect of being fully exposed to the noise, but he tried once more, pushing this time. The door remained shut. Seto was frantic, he needed to get out. He took a few steps back and threw his entire weight at the seemingly old door. As expected, it did not even budge.

Defeated, Seto dived behind the bar top counter, hiding himself under it, once more shielded partially from the noise. His only mean of escape gone.

'This better not be some bastard's idea of a sick joke,' he fumed. It was not possible that he could not escape from this eatery. There had to be another way out. The kitchen. He looked out. 'Damn.' The kitchen was right next to the darn source of his dilemma. 'Great,' he thought. He was not going to give up this easily. Since the door was locked, he had to think of another way out of this situation. As much as he wanted to get out, he was not stupid enough to run next to the television. Perhaps he could find something to throw at it instead.

He reached out his hand to the drawer above him, trying to feel for something heavy enough to stop the annoying boom box. His fingers contacted forks, knives, spoons... In short, cutlery. Those were too light to do much damage from this distance. He moved on to the next drawer. Fingers slipped around the worn metal handle and pulled.

The entire drawer came clattering down.

There was nothing much in it, except for some tape, loose change and a few metal candle holders. He took a crudely crafted holder, testing its weight. Not the heaviest, but it would have to do. At least it was heavier than pieces of cheap metal spoons. Seto estimated his distance from the television; it was not too far, but it would need a strong enough throw in order to damage it. He looked at the candle holder in his hand. This had better work.

On his knees, the teen moved to the edge of the counter, just enough for him to throw a holder at the television. He would not risk staying in the open for too long, so he had better make this shot count. Icy orbs narrowed, as Seto silently estimated the distance and the strength of his toss. A warrior, hidden in the shadows, carefully planning his next move. Eyes focused on his target, mind cleared of all other thoughts. This attack would make a difference, he would not fail. Correction, he never fails.

In the blink of an eye, he let the candle holder fly. His brow furrowed as he watched the long, thin metal sail through the air slowly, towards its target. It did not fly straight like an arrow, but spun like a roulette. Will it hit or miss? Even if it did hit the bullseye, will it cause a big enough an impact to shut it up once and for all? The suspense was killing him, like a blade slowly driven into his heart, forcing him to wait in pain and in this case, anticipation for the final result.

Seto felt his muscles unconsciously tensed up as the candle holder finally contacted the screen. With a great smash, the entire screen shattered into fragments, shards of diamonds in the air as he dived back behind the counter. Each piece clinked as it fell against the wooden floor, a cascade of musical notes as compared to the previously nerve-wrecking, headache-inducing static. The teen emerged from behind the counter, ears unplugged, still ringing from the new found silence.

Gingerly, he massaged his ringing and sore ears, flexed his limbs, making sure that they were still functioning properly. He looked distastefully at the now wasted television, shoes crunching the pieces of plastic as he walked towards it. He stood in front of it for a moment, staring into the darkness which was now in place of the screen. He did not see how the television was able to be switched on by itself. He scouted for a remote control, a sign which might indicate someone's participation in the event, but none could be found.

It was puzzling, but Seto decided to push it to the back of his head for now. He was just glad that the entire mess was over, and he was still standing here, certain that his sense of hearing had not left him. His headache had subsided significantly to a mild pounding at the back of his head, gradually fading to nothing more than a mere memory.

Bending down, he picked up the candle holder once more and smirked. Once more, he had managed to escape from the claws of his manipulator. He had outwitted whoever his opponent might be for this round, as expected. Seto just hoped that there would not be any more of these crazy stunts, or he swore, whoever that psycho maniac was, that person is going to get so bad a walloping, that he (or she) wished that he (or she) was never born.

Tossing the candle holder behind him with a satisfied look on his face, the CEO turned and proceeded to the exit.

"Ftzzz, ftzzz..."

Seto immediately turned around, only to see the television burst to life again, despite its smashed screen.

"Damn it!"

He made a break for the door, yanking the handle with all his strength. "Come on!" He continued tugging at it, to the point of the handle almost falling off, but the door would not even move. He tried ramming his body against the door, but to no avail.

Seto looked around once more, and spied the fallen candle holder. He snatched it up and used it to break away the falling wood with the lock connecting to the door. He roughly shoved his way out of the door, glad to be free from the prison. Without so much as a glance behind, he sprinted off into the streets, allowing his legs to carry him for a good ten minutes away from that wretched place before stopping.

The CEO stood, panting and drenched in perspiration. He bent over, palms on his kneecaps, and tried to fill his lungs with much needed oxygen. He looked at his suit, torn in various places by both sharp glass and plastic pieces. The bare skin underneath had minor scratches and bruises from tumbling out of the window. Irritably, he smoothed out his outfit and picked the remnants of glass and plastic from it, careful not to injure himself in the process.

The cool evening air brushed past his burning skin, relieving him of the heat generated by the adrenaline rush before. His cheeks were slowly returning to their normal pale colour; his breath was gradually slowing down to slight pants. He was utterly pissed off. Whoever's plan this was, he did not care. Because in the end, that person will suffer a fate worse than death. His azure eyes, now an icier shade of blue, narrowed dangerously at the thought.

Without warning, a booming laughter pierced through the otherwise deathly silent streets. Seto whipped his body around, his guard up, slowly scanning his surroundings, trying to pinpoint the source. No matter where he looked, not a soul was in sight.

The maniacal laughter seemed to surround him, engulf him. Its force trying to push the teen to the ground, mocking him. He listened more intently once more. The laughter... There was a sense of familiarity in it. Yet at the same time, a feeling of dread overcame him. He could not put his finger on it.

'This better not be the doings of the yamis, or some other Sennen (1) item wielding freak,' Seto's patience was wearing thin. It was possible that a certain white-haired Egyptian spirit who had decided to toy around with him, but knowing Bakura, he would not play such mediocre tricks on him, or so the latter called it.

Then, it struck him.

'No...' Seto felt his heartbeat increase in intensity. 'It cannot be...' Realisation struck him like a meteorite out of the heavens, robbing him of all consciousness and thoughts. Anyone but him! Seto staggered back a couple of steps, face betraying the shock emerging from within him.

"Seto, my son," the invisible owner of the voice vapourised his doubts, carefully placing a tad more emphasis on the last word of the sentence.

"Gozaburo!" Seto shouted in disbelief. This was not possible! The man had perished after being defeated, it was impossible for him to once more, barge into his life, unwelcome, anymore.

"Aren't you happy to see your father, Seto? Where are your manners?", the voice continued on, mocking the teen, clearing enjoying the horrified expression on the latter's face.

'This is nothing more than a mere dream, this is not happening,' Seto convinced himself, regaining his lost composure. "Who are you! And what do you want!" He shouted out into the emptiness.

"Don't you remember your own father? The one who gave you opportunities which others would kill for; the one who fed you when you were nothing more than a mere orphan; the man who had shaped you to be the successful business man you are now!" The voice boomed once more, causing the entire area to tremble and shake from the sheer volume of his voice.

Seto could feel his defences being peeled off, a layer at a time, exposing his vulnerable self inside. "No... No! You are DEAD!" He shouted back, trying his best to steady his voice. His fists were clenched, jaws set, trying to deny the words of the invisible god.

"That is not a nice thing to say to your father Seto,", a dangerous tone evident as the voice spoke out. "Have you forgotten the punishments you had endured when you were younger?"

Almost immediately, images of Gozaburo's harsh teaching methods surfaced in his mind. Seto could see himself, a youth of ten (2), fighting the spell of the sandman while trying to complete the rigourous accelerated school programs forcefully placed upon him. Whenever he made a mistake, he would be deprived of food and more sleep, until he was able to complete the tasks perfectly. (3) Only then would he be granted a precious few hours of sleep, usually waking up at the slightest break of dawn to continue his training.

This continued until Seto managed to overthrow the tyrant and finally take control of his own life. Even then, the scars of the past remained in him, buried somewhere deep inside his heart. As much as he tried to overcome his fears, a certain part of him still dreaded his stepfather, living in the older Kaiba's shadow, a slave to the company, nothing more.

The memories grew more and more intense, and the teen sank to his knees on the ground, hands clutching fistfuls of chocolate locks. He could feel all the strength drain from him with each flashback.

"No...", he whispered as he tried to block the images from his mind. This was behind him now, nothing but the past. He swore that he would never let that bastard control him again. He needed to fight against Gozaburo's authoritarian methods.

"What's the matter Seto? Don't tell me you are afraid of me?" Once more, the voice taunted the teen, letting out another series of laughter as Seto struggled to block the memories out of his head. He continued to shake his head, in an attempt to rid of the darkness of his childhood for good.

"Get out of my head damn it!" Seto yelled and got up, furiously looking for the invisible owner of the voice. "Come out you coward!", he shouted, voice echoing through the streets. "Come out and face me!"

"I made you Seto, there is no way I will let you go... Not now, not EVER," the voice laughed evilly, the sound waves rippled throughout the deserted area of town. "You will never escape from me boy, join me and resign to your fate!"

The brunette scrambled to his feet and took off into the darkening skies. He did not care if he ended up further trapped in the maze of alleys or spending a night here, as long as he could escape from that voice. The voice of the person who had given him the chance to show off his elevated abilities; the chance for him to escape from poverty; the chance for him to give his brother a better life. He wanted to get away from that slave-driver of a stepfather, even if it killed him.

He did not pay any attention to his surroundings; his legs flew tirelessly over the dusty pavements, hoping to escape from the spine-chilling laughter that clouded most of his senses. Spying a dark narrow alley just ahead, Seto made a sharp turn and dived into it, still dashing and praying that he would lose the devil's carriage chasing him.

Alas, the laughter did not cease, neither did it flatter nor diminish; its voice rang strong and loud over the city. Gozaburo was the God, he would rule them all! Including that pathetic once orphaned stepson of his. That teen was nothing more but a lab rat trapped in a labyrinth, with no escape. He would watch as that boy ran aimlessly, a futile attempt to hide from his impending doom. Sweet pleasures of torture awaited his stepson, and Gozaburo could not wait to administer it.

Weaving in and out through the endless alleys, Seto could feel panic raising in his chest as he fought to keep his anxiety and fears under control. He would, not he must get away from his stepfather! It was slowly seeping into his flesh, his bones, a chip of mind control just waiting to hijack the last personal space in his life.

Making a sharp turn, the main road appeared before his eyes once more and he continued scaling the tarred floor in a crazed search for protection. A strange feeling of recognision emerged in his heart as his feet padded against the gravel. He was sure he had been here before. Or had he? The feeling of _dejavu_ left him further puzzled. He reached into his mind, trying to draw out the specific memory, cursing as he failed. How he hated it when his impossibly flawless memory tend to leave him when he needed it the most.

The more he ran, the more frustrated the brunette got. It did not help much with the irritating boomings in his head as well. Doing his best to shut the noise out of his head, he tried to recall the incidents which had happened barely a few hours ago. Scenes of him sitting at his desk for endless hours, him playing games with Mokuba the radiant smirk on the latter's face, very possibly learnt from his older brother, resurfaced.

Mokuba... How Seto prayed that he was not trapped in this nightmare as he was. He remembered vaguely getting into his car, the constant drumming of rain against the tough metal of his limousine. His thoughts started to race in his head as he urged his memory on. The scene switched to that of him with a bruised bone due to an unexpected date with the floor of his vehicle. A flash of gold, disappearing into the greyness of the city.

Now he remembered. This was the exact spot at which that incident had happened. Jounouchi Katsuya, a freshman, same age as he was, his classmate for almost every lesson. He was also the mutt who had beaten him in gym class. Seto felt a new burst of energy rejuvenating him, propelling him to a rundown building in front of him. Seto rushed in, no longer caring about the senseless laughter outside.

A wave of nostalgia hit him as he stepped into the building. So this was where that always cheerful victim of his witty and sarcastic remarks lived. The lighting was almost non-existent, save for a few flickering light bulbs dangling dangerously low overhead, threatening to succumb to gravity any time. His shoes brought a cloud of dirt to surface with each step he took.

In the ghostly setup, he could have sworn he saw a shadow fleet past his eye. A rat scampered across the floor, leaving a disgusted CEO gingerly continuing down the corridor. The only reason why he was even in this dump was because of him trying to escape from the lunatic. Relieved of the horrors he had experienced just now, Seto could only wander around inside, hoping that by some miracle from above, this would end.

Rotting doors hung unsteadily from rusted hinges. The peeling paint from the horrendously vandalised walls curled menacingly in the eerie glow, mimicking claws of demons from hell. Even the logical and atheist CEO felt an uneasy feeling grow inside of him. He continued further into the corridors, his mind trying to think of a way to contact his company and his brother.

Just then, he noticed a familiar looking duffel bag on the ground lying outside a slightly ajar door. It belonged to a certain blonde classmate of his. Could this be his house? Seto picked the worn bag up and looked into its contents. School books, stationary, snacks and even spare duel cards met his eyes. The words 'Jounouchi Katsuya' in an untidying handwriting was scrawled across the corner of the Mathematics textbook. A twinge of hope surfaced. Could the blonde be in there? He was going to find out soon enough.

He replaced the contents. Drastic times call for drastic measures. Not bothering about invasion of another's privacy, Seto pushed the door inwards carefully not wishing for it to get disconnected from its hinges and come crashing down, with a chance of falling on him. He made sure the gap was large enough for he to enter and easily slid his lean form into the interior of the house. Darkness welcomed him.

Sparse furniture was scattered in the Jounouchi's residence; faint outlines of glass bottles could be seen on a plastic table in a corner. Just to his left was a door, leading to the kitchen he guessed, for the lack of light cloaked the items within in a blanket of darkness. Another two doors stood closed to his left. Through the gap beneath the second door, he could see a faint light glowing from inside.

Looks like someone was here after all. Seto proceeded towards it. He reached to open it, hand stopping just inches from the door knob. Should he enter? His fingers recoiled slightly at the thought of entering the other duelist's room. But he needed a way to contact Mokuba, and he wasn't going to let this chance slide. With the communication devices down, and not a single soul in sight, barging into the room of a person who took him as the worst bastard who ever lived on this planet seemed like a good idea.

Feeling polite all of a sudden, the snobbish CEO called out stiffly, "Hey ba-, Jounouchi! I'm coming in whether you like it or not." He twisted the knob without waiting for a reply and pushed the door wide open. A bright flash momentarily blinded him, causing Seto to raise his hands to shield his eyes, a stark contrast to the otherwise dark surroundings. He winced and tried to detect the origin of the light. The light continued to get brighter as he took a few steps back, trying to escape from the glare.

Instead, the glow continued to radiate outwards until it has escaped the room and started to engulf the teen's form. Navy orbs widened in shock and all Seto could feel then, was nothingness.

Light.

That was all the brunette could feel around him. The slight warmth which caressed his skin, leaving a comfortable tingling sensation in its wake. The brightness was neither too harsh, nor was it blinding. Instead, it was gentle and soft, just like one being enclosed in a giant ball of the softest cotton wool ever made. His heart felt surprisingly at ease then, all the worries and fears from before washed away by the gentle light.

Seto was not a man, or rather teen, of bunnies happily bouncing around and sliding down rainbows with bright colours splashed all over. He was probably the world's greatest hater of La-La land; it irked him to no end. Still, this happiness resonating from inside of him was indescribable. The endless span of solace he has finally found. His muscles, previously tensed up, subconsciously relaxed as he sank into the imaginary feathery canopy, enjoying the feeling of pure bliss he had longed for ages.

The teen looked upwards, or rather what he deemed as upwards, with a gentle look on his face. Floating around endlessly in this dimension, he continued his peaceful half-slumber. The warmth was like a thick woolen blanket, taking away the coldness from him. His face was no longer a sculpture, emotionless. A small smile graced his perfect features, revealing the angel he was.

"Seto..." A voice softly called out to him. Slowly, the CEO looked around, his mind still drugged by the soothingness of his solace.

"Seto..." The voice came once more. So gentle, so melodious. This time, Seto glanced upwards again, more conscious than before. 'This voice... Could it be?' Never had he dreamt that the voice, would be calling his name, in a tone filled with longing, filled with love. Faintly, a pair of hands reached out towards him, beckoning him to follow.

"Katsuya...", he whispered back as his own slender fingers came into contact with that of his love...

_xl-To be continued...-lx_

(1): 'Sennen', 'Millennium' in Japanese.

(2): This is the age shown in the Japanese version of the series. The American series shows him when he was twelve.

(3): I doubt this was shown in the manga or anime... Just a little something from the authoress herself to show how badly Seto was treated.

Mystickal: Sorry for not adding in some Katsuya into this chapter, but I just thought that perhaps I should finish off the dream and jump back to the current situation with our two bishies in the next chapter. I makes the chapter a lot less confusing (for those who even bother to read it). ;) I will be away for the entire of November to the States so no updates till after that I guess. Please R&R&R anyway! Thanks for all those who support this amateur's fic!

_P/s: For those who are interested in being my beta reader, just drop me an email or a message!_


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